The 2025 Strategy Catalyst Summit’s sessions and peer discussions provided an opportunity to explore big picture issues like the shifting political environment, and more personal issues like career development and team organization.
Insight #1: The most effective direct-to-employer efforts rely on deep partnerships
The Summit covered health system efforts to break into the direct-to-employer market. The discussion highlighted what helped Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Northwell Direct, and MaineHealth to diversify their revenue and gain leverage with payers. All three program leaders emphasized the importance of external partnerships in shaping and scaling their products. These partnerships fell into several categories:
Employer partnerships: Building relationships with key anchor employers early on can help systems “co-design” their DTE offerings from the ground up with customers’ needs at the center. Northwell worked with large employers like Jet Blue and Madison Square Gerden to tailor a product to their workforce’s needs.
Administrative partnerships: While DTEs are chiefly about “cutting out the middleman” with respect to insurers, there are parts of the business that fall outside a typical health system’s core competencies. MaineHealth uses Third Party Administrators for tasks in claims processing, enrollment, benefit design, and data analytics and relies on PBMs for formulary management and price negotiation.
Partnerships with other providers: Health system DTE offerings can extend their reach and attractiveness to employers by forming a network with other collaborating providers. These provider partnerships can be steppingstones to deeper integration, including JVs and M&A.
Insight #2: Trump agenda could impact health systems despite low healthcare reform priority
In a session led by THMA’s VP of Health Policy & Strategy Stephanie Bernardes, attendees discussed the shifting federal policy agenda.
With a more modest legislative healthcare agenda and limited room for sweeping reform, the Trump administration’s focus has shifted to marginal (not truly transformative) changes like provider price transparency, site-neutral payments, and nonprofit hospital scrutiny. These reflect the administration’s approach to reform: private sector solutions and market competition to reduce consumer costs and increase operational efficiency.
Health systems will be impacted by other parts of the administration’s agenda:
Medicaid: The proposed $2T federal budget cut could lead to major Medicaid reductions. The Trump administration may review Medicaid 1115 waivers. In January, CMS signaled plans to expand its oversight of state compliance, and in March, withdrew guidelines on Medicaid and CHIP services addressing health-related social needs (HSRNs).
Wellness and vaccines: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda targets chronic disease with skepticism toward the pharmaceutical industry. His vaccine stance has been mixed. Though he has questioned vaccine safety and efficacy, he encouraged parents to explore MMR options after a pediatric measles death. His cancellation of a key meeting on seasonal flu vaccine development also signals potential changes to vaccine guidance and development.
On March 3, HHS rescinded a longstanding policy on Public Participation in Rule Making, which required public comment periods for “matters relating to agency management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts.” While comment periods remain where legally mandated, this rollback limits opportunities for health systems and stakeholders to weigh in on regulatory decisions.
Trade and immigration: Executive orders raising tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada and other orders restricting immigration could have major effects on health system supply chains and workforce pipelines. Executive orders related to abortion and gender-affirming care will also have a direct impact on providers.
340B: While the Trump administration has not clearly signaled its position on the 340B drug pricing program, whoever the president appoints to lead HRSA could impact the ongoing lawsuits filed by drugmakers.
Insight #3: New technologies are supercharging attacks on health system security
A session led by CLEAR focused on how new technologies are helping attackers circumvent traditional defenses against fraud and cyberattacks. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, and traditional defenses — particularly in call centers — are no longer sufficient.
The dark web: Attackers are taking advantage of illegal black-market goods on the “dark web” – hidden parts of the internet (typically not visible on search engines) where cyber criminals share and sell stolen personal information such as Social Security numbers, home address, and breached passwords.
Artificial intelligence: Advances in generative AI also give attackers more tools to fool and impersonate victims, including the ability to mimic voices over the phone. Despite the risk, visibility into the reality of this issue is low. 64% of attendees said they didn’t know if their call centers had experienced a breach in the past year. Others who reported no incidents admitted they weren’t confident in their assessment.
To address this gap, CLEAR partnered with the University of Miami and Community Health Network to adapt its airport-grade identity verification technology for hospitals. Unlike traditional call centers with high staff turnover, this system offers a secure, automated alternative for verifying staff, patients, and visitors.
Insight #4: Strategies for urgent care access are shaped by how you define value
Participants debated the strategic role of urgent care centers following the results of a review of urgent care access. While expansion can attract new patients and ease ED volumes, implementation choices significantly impact outcomes. Two levers for systems to influence their urgent care payer mix emerged:
Scheduling: Participants agreed the traditional “walk-in-only” urgent care model is outdated. Online scheduling improves patient experience and lets systems reserve slots for commercially insured patients. One health system shared a paired urgent care–ED model, where appointment-only urgent care serves patients meeting specific insurance criteria, while others are directed to the ED.
Location: Another strategy leader discussed strategically locating their urgent cares in neighborhoods with a high commercial share of patients, comparing the practice to how Starbucks locates its coffee shops.
Attendees also discussed how they measure the downstream revenue that these patients generate through referrals and follow-up care. A CSO said that connecting patients with primary care was the wrong yardstick as many patients seek urgent care clinics because they don’t want a PCP.
Read the full insights here