For 15 years, Health Evolution Summit has brought together a diverse community of the most influential leaders across the health care ecosystem to examine the industry’s most pressing challenges, identify opportunities, and collaborate to implement positive transformation. Summit’s dynamic setting enables candid, cross-industry dialogue that helps leaders navigate complex issues and shape the future of U.S. health care.
As our unparalleled community of executives gathered this year for our 15th Summit, they focused on the changes leaders must make now to build a tech-enabled health care system that’s more proactive, sustainable, and trustworthy by 2040. Leaders reflected on lessons learned, shared strategies for navigating uncertainties, and engaged in bold, progress-focused conversations led by distinguished experts, including:
- David Brailer, Chairman, Health Evolution
- Mandy Cohen, Former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); National Advisor, Manatt Health
- Nancy-Ann DeParle, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Consonance Capital Partners; former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
- Karen Ignagni, Executive Board Chair, EmblemHealth Family of Companies
- Chris Klomp, Director of Medicare and Sr. Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Former CEO, Collective Medical
- Esther Krofah, EVP, Milken Institute Health
- Mark McClellan, Director, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy; former Commissioner, FDA
- Mark Smith, Founding President & former CEO, California Health Care Foundation
- Warner Thomas, President & CEO, Sutter Health
- Seema Verma, EVP & GM, Oracle Health and Life Science; Former Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Health Policy 2025: The ACA at 15, Second Trump Administration, and Newfound Uncertainties
Health policy is top of mind for leaders, as this year marks the 15th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and as the new Trump administration begins implementing its vision for U.S. health care. In a conversation centered on the past, present, and future of health policy, McClellan, DeParle, Ignagni, and Verma drew on their time serving at the forefront of policymaking to discuss evolving health policy priorities and newfound uncertainties.
The discussion leaders noted that the second Trump administration’s sweeping moves to reshape federal health care agencies, adjust funding priorities, and modify regulatory frameworks have raised questions about potential implications for health care organizations and patients. In particular, they underscored concerns over recent cuts to federal health care agencies’ staff and programs, and they said they hope the administration will strengthen health care agencies.
“I think it’s important to have smart, strong, principled people at the table,” DeParle said. “I want to do everything I can to promote that, and I hope this administration does, too.”
The discussion leaders said executives across the industry and policymakers desire to align on common goals. For example, McClellan said, “We can all agree health care is too expensive and there should be a stronger focus on public health.”
To that end, the discussion leaders noted that much of the new Trump administration’s health care messaging has centered on lowering costs and achieving a healthier population. Verma noted, for instance, that while the ACA has expanded Americans’ access to coverage, President Trump has criticized the law because “he thinks the deductibles and cost-sharing are too high.”
To effectively lower costs and improve health, Ignagni said the administration’s policies will “have to match” its messaging. She suggested the administration should bolster and support government health agencies and ensure Americans’ access to care to attain those goals.
The discussion leaders also touted the role value-based care (VBC) can play in improving health care outcomes while lowering costs, and they noted President Trump’s first administration prioritized helping the industry shift toward VBC. The discussion leaders explained that stakeholders at that time still were developing the data infrastructure needed to scale VBC, but advancements in this space now can help accelerate VBC adoption, which incentivizes keeping people healthy. “I think we’re going to see a lot more VBC, and I think now is a great moment for us. Technology has finally caught up. We do have more interoperability. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better,” Verma said.
“I hope the new Trump administration goes big and solves some of the problems with scaling VBC and creates a roadmap to actually drive progress,” Ignagni added.
Overall, the discussion leaders called on the Trump administration to collaborate with industry stakeholders on impactful, innovative solutions that will address pressing challenges in ways that support common goals. “The one thing I feel certain about is that the administration’s agenda will evolve and change,” Verma said, adding, “Whatever they do, they’re going to move a lot faster and they’re going to be even more bold.”
Health Care 2040: Predicting the Major Contours of the Future Health Care Ecosystem
Throughout Summit, leaders stressed that as they work to make bold changes to address current challenges, they should consider how their decisions will shape the future and prioritize solutions that will make the health care system more proactive, sustainable, and consumer focused.
In a future-focused discussion moderated by Brailer, Krofah, Klomp, and Thomas discussed how the innovations and transformations occurring across the industry now could mold the major contours of the health care ecosystem over the next 15 years.
A more proactive, consumer-focused health care system
To kick off the conversation, Brailer invited the discussion leaders to reflect on health care over the past 15 years and asked them to share their predictions for the health care landscape in 2040.
The discussion leaders predicted emerging innovations will enable the health care system to shift away from being reactive and primarily focused on treating illness to being proactive and prioritizing wellness and prevention.
“I think this idea of moving from a reactive health system to a proactive one—where we’re not just responding, but actively reaching out, predicting, and getting ahead of issues before they arise—is going to drive massive change over the next decade,” Thomas said.
The leaders predicted the industry will increase efforts focused on preventive, personalized care and see widespread use of AI-powered diagnostics and health solutions, which could lead to a healthier population overall. However, they cautioned that the future must integrate AI into human care teams to safely improve both outcomes and efficiency.
“We need to be mindful about how we integrate AI and human expertise to do a better job taking care of people,” Thomas said. “AI has a massive impact, but we must use it in the right way—reflecting the expertise of our physicians and with the right balance of empathy and compassion—so people still feel cared for.”
The discussion leaders also predicted that shifting consumer expectations will force health care organizations to build a more consumer-centric—and consumer-driven—system that will reshape care delivery. They posited that consumers will increasingly demand personalized care, more time with providers, and greater convenience in how and where they receive care. As a result, the leaders expect more health care services will be delivered through home-based and community-centered models, moving care delivery away from traditional hospital settings.
“Consumers are going to demand time with their provider, and that definition of a provider is going to expand dramatically from how we view it today,” Klomp said. “I think they’re going to demand care in convenient locations. While they will no doubt remain essential and valued providers of acute care, they may not remain the center of care 15 years from now. I think care will increasingly be centered in the home.”
Charting a sustainable path forward
The discussion leaders also portended major shifts in health care payment and financial incentive structures, noting that current structures largely have driven unsustainable costs while delivering underwhelming, inequitable outcomes. “That’s something that we need to redesign across the system,” Krofah noted. “I think the cost issue and the outcomes issue will force this conversation around how we start to shift toward prevention.”
To build a more sustainable future, the leaders said health care organizations must move toward a system that incentivizes health and wellness. “I think we need to reconfigure and redesign the fundamental system,” Krofah said, adding, “That’s how we start to shift this whole ecosystem.”
The leaders said VBC could facilitate this transformation, but complex challenges hinder the shift from fee-for-service (FFS) payments to VBC. To unlock VBC’s full potential to lower costs and improve outcomes, health care organizations must adopt value-based payments across all care settings—primary, specialty, urgent, telehealth, home, and ambulatory—creating a system that is coordinated, accessible, and centered on outcomes.
“VBC isn’t hard. FFS isn’t hard. But transitioning from FFS to VBC—running both simultaneously, managing that cognitive dissonance as a provider—is very challenging and costly,” Klomp said. “We’ve wrestled with how to facilitate that shift when budgets are already strapped.”
This transition represents “a tectonic shift in the delivery system,” Thomas noted. “But if we’re really going to change the delivery system, that is what has to happen.”
Ultimately, there is no roadmap that guarantees success. As leaders shape the future of health care, they must remain agile and rise to meet emerging challenges, being mindful to build a system that’s sustainable, resilient, and truly responsive to the needs of the people it serves.
Future in Focus: Fireside Chat with Dr. Mandy Cohen
In a special fireside chat, Smith and Cohen explored how leaders can collectively work to construct a healthier, more resilient, and consumer-centric future. Cohen highlighted four foundations leaders should prioritize as they shape the future of health care:
1. Fostering trust
The future of health care hinges on trust. “I think trust is the way that you facilitate change,” Cohen said. “I think we all hear ‘change happens at the pace of trust.’ Trust is so important with the team you have and the team you lead, and with those you’re trying to impact in the world.”
To facilitate trust, leaders and organizations need to view trust as a measurable operational priority. “Don’t just talk about trust, build it tactically into the metrics you’re driving for your organization,” Cohen said.
By building strong relationships and fostering trust, leaders can create the foundation needed to deliver innovative, people-centered solutions that improve health outcomes and strengthen the health care system. Ultimately, “you build trust by showing up and delivering,” Cohen said.
2. System-wide innovation
When thinking about innovation, Cohen encouraged leaders to put technology in a payment and community context. “How do you turn innovation into something tactical?” she asked. “Often people’s minds immediately go to tech, to life sciences—all of which are good. But the innovation I want you to think about is: how do you bring together the tech innovation with new payment models and foster community engagement in those models?”
To progress toward a healthier future, Cohen underscored the need for payment and delivery systems that help provide resources to support consumers’ health and wellbeing. She highlighted the importance of scaling solutions that focus on empowering people to live healthier lives and reduce the need for care. “I think these are the kinds of ideas that are ready to scale,” Cohen said.
3. Dismantling silos
To further ensure the health care system of the future prioritizes health and wellness, Cohen said leaders must focus on breaking down the silos between public health and care delivery. “Public health and health care are so siloed,” Cohen said. “They use different language, different data systems, different ways of operating, funding is completely different, but the work is overlapping.”
Meaningful progress hinges on integrating these sectors to leverage their respective strengths and facilitate more effective collaboration. While there has been some progress, Cohen noted “there needs to be a lot more.”
To bridge this gap, health care leaders should partner with technology vendors and innovators to leverage data. “For me, the first step of bringing very different cultures together is to knit them together with data and hold them jointly accountable for something,” Cohen said.
In addition, Cohen said leaders need to create new, coordinated and integrated payment, care delivery, and tech systems that support both public health and health care, enabling us “to think about how we stop being reactive and be preventive and proactive in the system.”
4. Prioritizing people
To drive real change, it is critical for leaders not only to show they care about the people they serve, they also must recognize the hard work and cultivate the talent of their teams. “This is about the people you lead,” Cohen said. “You can go fast alone or further together—and the people on your team are so critical for your success.”
Cohen remarked that “you can scare people into change, or you can care people into change,” and she has “always found, as a leader, that you will get durable change through caring.”
