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The financial challenges facing hospitals and health systems—from the One Big Beautiful Bill’s looming impacts to difficult operating conditions—are also keeping insurers up at night.

By effectively putting strategy into action, hospitals and healthcare systems can thrive amid today’s financial and operational challenges and position themselves to confront the looming threats that are just around the corner.

Forward-looking healthcare systems aren’t waiting for conditions to stabilize. They are moving deliberately toward strategic partnerships that position them for long-term relevance and resilience.

The challenges that hospitals and health systems currently face are amplifying this complexity, from uncertainty about potential changes to federal healthcare policy—including Medicaid and NIH funding cuts and tariffs—inflation, and ongoing workforce challenges.

Senior healthcare leaders and board members routinely ask us the following two questions.

The hospital and health system leaders we work with are extremely concerned about the financial impact their organizations may experience from potentially significant Medicaid policy changes, following the recent passage of a budget resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives.

A conversation with Rich Liekweg, CEO of BJC Health System in Missouri, and Nick Barto, president of BJC Health System

It has been an incredibly busy and exciting year for our Strategy & Business Transformation practice at Kaufman Hall. In 2024, we observed hospitals and health systems take steps to reinvigorate their strategic efforts amid a stabilizing, but still challenging, outlook.

The future will favor payers that adapt to changing market circumstances with agency and velocity. Payers will need to make tough choices.

As health systems enter a period of relative stabilization following the pandemic and its inflationary aftermath, many leaders are rethinking their organization’s enterprise strategy.

Solo living is becoming much more common in American society. As the concept of the American family shifts, and in this case, unwinds, healthcare leaders need to be attuned to new demands—and nimble enough to meet them.

A question often asked by health system leaders is what will be required for future success. Responses from some of Kaufman Hall’s smartest consultants are featured in this new blog from Ken Kaufman. One common element: The need to make and stick with really hard decisions.