Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, doctors began seeing puzzling symptoms in patients that lasted well beyond the initial infection period. These COVID long-haulers suffered from distressing or debilitating …

More first-person stories from the 4sight Health team regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Into the World Again By Ed Marx Vax Day: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Location: Texas As news of …

In March 2020, we put the finishing touches on a commentary describing innovative capital formation strategies for not-for-profit (NFP) health systems. The research was timely because an increasing number of …

An Interview with Bill Christie, AVP Support Services The pandemic tested the supply chain at Virtua Health like no prior stressor. Communication, creativity and teamwork combined to get the system’s …

With valuations soaring, the market for acquisitions and consolidations has become costly and competitive. As a result, some corporate sponsors, service providers and private equity (PE) investors are looking beyond …

At the beginning of 2020, US healthcare showed every sign of continuing 2019’s wave of growth and consolidation. Soaring valuations and an influx of new investment capital bolstered the optimistic …

Monday, December 14, 2020 will become an auspicious date in American history. The United States recorded its 300,000th COVID-19 death and set daily records for new COVID-19 cases (261,250) and …

2020 has been a year like no other. Investors in U.S. healthcare have navigated remarkable economic and societal disruption by maintaining their focus on long-term value in healthcare businesses and …

COVID-19 is the most deadly and confounding world health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic which killed as many as 50 million people. Hopes for a better future hinge on …

The Supreme Court began hearings this week regarding the legality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Preliminary indications suggest the Court will keep the law largely intact. A final ruling …

The 2020 pre-election hysteria regarding the potential demise of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) resembles Chicken Little screaming to the multitudes that the sky is falling. The political theater is …

In the recent article Healthcare’s Age of Liquid Data, we explored why the healthcare industry must move aggressively to make healthcare data extremely connected. We identified three steps to make …

I spent some time this week scrolling through medical campaigns on the GoFundMe website. These campaigns seek funding to pay medical expenses for those with serious illness and injury. Their …

Editor’s Note: This is our second article on the Future of Hospitals in Post-COVID America. The first article, published in July, examined the accelerating pace of industry consolidation and hospital …

On a plane trip to Oberlin College in October 1955, singer Pete Seeger wrote the first three verses of the popular anti-war song Where Have All the Flowers Gone? With …

Key Takeaways Investors expressed confidence in Oak Street Health’s model for caring for high-cost, low-income patients by sending its shares soaring 90% on the first day of trading after an …

In Healthcare’s Age of Liquid Data, we explored why the healthcare industry must move aggressively to make healthcare data extremely connected. We identified three steps to make this happen – …

Editor’s Note: This is the first of two articles on the Future of Hospitals in Post-COVID America. This article examines how market forces are consolidating, rationalizing and redistributing acute care …

Boxer Mike Tyson famously observed, “Everyone has a plan until they’re punched in the face.” COVID-19 knocked America’s healthcare system to the canvas. Even as hospitals expanded critical care capacity …

Founded in 1865, the German company BASF grew to become the world’s largest chemical manufacturer. By the early 1990s, BASF was a household name in Europe and Asia, but was …

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the home healthcare sector was on the march. With financial pressures intensifying and value-based payment models advancing, providers and payers sought lower costs and better outcomes …

In our recent article we identified the following five margin pressures that are coalescing to drive more value into the delivery of healthcare services: Their collective impact poses an existential …

Key Takeaways Healthcare data is in solid form (i.e. fragmented, siloed) and needs to thaw so that it can flow freely to where it provides the greatest benefit. Liquid data …

Key Takeaways: Strategic partnerships, reconfiguring routine care, increasing productivity and effective revenue management are value-based strategies that help enhance competitiveness and ensure long-term market relevance. Combined with increased costs for …

Key Takeaways: There are eerie parallels between the 1918 and current viral pandemics. Woodrow Wilson’s decision to pursue the war irrespective of the pandemic accelerated the disease spread and increased …

With stunning swiftness, COVID-19 knocked America’s healthcare delivery system to its knees. A month into the crisis, normal hospital operations are in upheaval. Avoiding in-person care has become the norm …

In our recent article we identified the following five margin pressures that are coalescing to drive more value into the delivery of healthcare services: Their collective impact poses a prominent …

In our January 9th, 2020, Market Corner Commentary we identified the following five forces that are coalescing to drive more value into the delivery of healthcare services: More disciplined purchasing …

American culture and politics make little room for honest discussions about death and dying. Healthcare thought leader Ian Morrison is fond of saying, “In Scotland, death is imminent. In Canada, …

Private equity-funded delivery models are emerging to create more integrated care models that position well for value-based contracting. These new asset-light and consumer-oriented business models are changing healthcare’s competitive dynamics …

Each year on the second Sunday in January, the healthcare world descends on San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan conference and the circus that surrounds it. For the next week, …

(from Taking Healthcare’s Pulse: 4sight Health’s 2020 J.P. Morgan Conference Report) Each year on the second Sunday in January, the healthcare world descends on San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan …

The gloves are off and the big guns are out. Epic Systems Corporation, the nation’s largest EHR vendor, is applying every fiber of its corporate being to dilute the government’s …

Key Takeaways: Despite favorable rating agency outlooks, the 2020s promise to be healthcare’s most turbulent decade since the 1990s. It’s been a great 20-year run for the healthcare industry, but …

Key Takeaways: Providers and payers fight the implementation of transparent prices with all their considerable resources and influence. Monopolies and monopsonies resist transparent pricing for their services because it threatens …

Key Takeaways: Society demands both innovation and fair pricing from drug companies that develop treatments for all diseases. Proving meaningful efficacy and value is essential for successful drug commercialization. The …

“Every time there’s a revolution, it comes from somebody reading a book about revolution.” Mike Tyson   David Johnson’s book is available for pre-order today! Book releases 9/6/19.

Health care providers suffer from a unique form of institutional irony: delivering institutionalized care in centralized, high-cost facilities impedes their ability to meet their communities’ expansive health and wellness needs. …

In 1908, the Jewish Home for the Aged of the Northwest opened in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving eight residents. As the facility deteriorated, the local Jewish community raised funds and …

On June 26th, 2019, American Academic Health Systems announced its intention to cease all medical activities at Hahnemann University Hospital by September 6th, 2019. With roughly 17,000 annual admissions, Hahnemann …

On September 23rd, the seven healthcare lobbyists listed below sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) and the House Committee on …

NEJM Catalyst Article for September 19, 2019 David W. Johnson, MPP Amy Compton-Phillips, MD Hospitals used to be at the center of the health care universe. Today, new business models …

What convinced a former Peace Corps volunteer and healthcare investment banker like me that the U.S. healthcare system (the System) requires revolutionary overhaul? It really came down to just one …

In an August 1st commentary published in the Washington Post, columnist Catherine Rampell asks an intriguing question of the Democratic presidential candidates promoting a Medicare-for-All health insurance program: “Will your …

As US healthcare consolidation continues, innovative corporate buyers (strategics) and private equity investors (sponsors) are partnering to accomplish increasingly complex transactions. Such deals can create win-win arrangements that serve market …

American workers increasingly wear scrubs, not overalls or store uniforms.(1) In late 2017, healthcare surpassed manufacturing and retail to become the largest employer in the U.S. economy. 19 million people …

Resuscitating Your Patients and Building Your Clinical Reputation The plane is in a nosedive. The sweating pilot is fighting to control the aircraft. A nervous co-pilot is furiously flipping through …

Historically, health systems have delivered acute care services in hospitals and ambulatory facilities. Their business models centralize care delivery in expensive settings to optimize their operations and revenue. In avoiding …

The Healthcare Affordability Index (Index) is a simple and powerful metric for assessing the impact of rising healthcare cost on American living standards. The Index measures the relationship between the total …

As it has in the last three presidential elections, healthcare is emerging as a decisive political issue in the 2020 election. Unlike in those previous elections, however, universal health insurance …

Single-specialty medical practices are the front door of American medicine. Dentists, Dermatologists, Ophthalmologists, GI doctors, ENT doctors, Internists, Gynecologists, Obstetricians, Urologists and their “retail medicine” counterparts provide high volumes of …

On a cold Minnesota morning in January 2018, Fairview Health Services CEO James Hereford addressed Twin Cities business executives regarding healthcare IT and innovation. (1) With an advanced degree in …

Consumerism was the hot topic at this year’s HIMSS conference in Orlando and at the JP Morgan conference. Attendees debated whether 2019 will mark the year healthcare finally tips toward …

An ongoing feud between independent physicians and hospital administrators in Naples, Florida, exploded last month, damaging the trust between the community, providers and the health system. (1) The furor centered …

The Healthcare Affordability Index (the Index) is a simple and powerful metric for assessing the impact of rising healthcare cost on American living standards. The Index measures the relationship between …

In rapid succession at the end of 2018, CVS closed its $70 billion acquisition of Aetna and Cigna closed its $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts. The consolidated companies are …

In 1952 at the tender age of 25, Elizabeth became the Queen of England upon the death of her father King George V. The popular Netflix series “The Crown” depicts the …

Definitions of precision medicine are anything but precise. For seriously ill patients and their families, precision medicine therapies provide a hope when all else has failed. They’re willing to risk …

“The teams were operating independently—like workers in an efficient factory—while trying to keep pace with an interdependent environment. We all knew intuitively that intelligence gathered on AQI’s [Al Qaeda in …

For health systems, the day of reckoning is near. A recent Morgan Stanley report states that over 1,000 of the nation’s 5,000+ hospitals are currently weak or at risk of closing. …

Healthcare data wants to be free, but it is oppressed. Entrenched oligarchs trap information within closed, centralized systems that prioritize revenue collection, misuse resources and tolerate medical error. Data gasps …

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the nation’s fastest-growing developmental disorder, one that touches each child and family in unique and complicated ways. A  lifelong condition, ASD requires individualized treatments that …

Healthcare has experienced a parade of surprising megamergers and acquisitions during the last year. At first glance, Best Buy’s August acquisition of GreatCall may be the most startling. At a …

“For years I [have] thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.” Charles E. Wilson Last month, General Motors signed a 5-year agreement …

Over the past month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced several pro-market policies that will enhance pricing transparency, stimulate competition (and fair prices) for routine procedures and eliminate burdensome reporting requirements. …

During President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China, the press asked China’s premier Zhou Enlai to comment on the French Revolution’s impact on world affairs. Zhou famously replied, “Too early to …

In well-functioning healthcare markets, governmental regulatory policies ensure access, safety, quality and privacy. The government’s most important role is creating level-field competition through balanced regulation, targeted enforcement actions and price/outcomes …

Amid much fanfare, the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan health venture (ABJ) announced on June 20th that its new CEO will be acclaimed author and surgeon Atul Gawande. Gawande starts his new job …

The 21st FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14th when host Russia trounced a weak Saudi Arabian team 5-0 at 81,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. It equaled the most lopsided opening …

In 1993, the health insurance industry funded the legendary “Harry and Louise” campaign to mobilize public opinion against the Clinton healthcare reform proposal. The strategy worked. Despite enormous investment of political capital, …

Shortly after publishing Market vs. Medicine: America’s Epic Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare in June 2016, I met with my former investment banking colleague, Jullia Quazi. Jullia arrived with a very funny story …

Part I of Superhero Healthcare identified several bright spots within American healthcare where liberated caregivers deliver appropriate, efficient care to engaged patients; where the interests of health companies and their customers align; and where compassion, …

Most weekends in America, long lines form outside cineplexes as ardent fans of DC and Marvel Comics catch the latest iterations on the big screen. Since the dawn of motion …

On March 22nd, Mission Health in Asheville, North Carolina announced its intention to sell its seven-hospital not-for-profit (NFP) health system to HCA Healthcare, the nation’s largest for-profit healthcare system. The …

The digitization and globalization of medical information is overwhelming traditional medical practices. Physicians confront a continuous avalanche of medical discoveries on disease origins, symptoms and treatments. By 2020, medical knowledge …

In 1970, Marcus Welby, MD became ABC Television’s first show to top network television ratings. Dr. Welby was a cheerful family practice physician with a soothing bedside manner who was …

Quad/Graphics, the American printing company, was founded near Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1971 by a husband and wife team. Harry and Betty Quadracci saw advantages in a family approach to doing …

The news that Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase joined forces to create their own healthcare company rocked the industry. The ten largest health insurers and pharmacy businesses lost …

There are more “suits” in downtown San Francisco each January for JP Morgan’s annual healthcare conference than the rest of the year combined. Heavy rain drenched San Francisco on January …

 In the mid-1800s, English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill developed “Utilitarianism,” a framework for making moral decisions. In Mill’s formulation, an action achieves optimal social utility when it …

In 1919, journalist John Reed published Ten Days that Shook the World, a first-hand account of the October 1917 Russian Revolution. During that dramatic 10-day period, Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks took …

Common wisdom holds that “it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.” That aphorism also applies to payers seeking lower prices for routine healthcare procedures. It “tastes” better when …

Market Corner Commentary for November 21, 2017 Having failed to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, House and Senate Republicans have set their sights on reforming the U.S. tax …

This paper is Part 3 in our series on payment reform. After highlighting various efforts to reign in healthcare costs over the past 50 years in Part 1, Part 2 …

Today, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel and I along with Aaron Glickman published Measuring the Burden of Health Care Costs on U.S. Families in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). …

Football is a “system” sport. Offense, defense and special teams function as distinct units with their own coaches, schemes and measures of success. The better teams bring all these components …

During the last week in August, Noah’s Ark found a new home in Houston. Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver medical supplies. Between August 25th and 29th, Hurricane Harvey dropped an almost …

Cancer has been humanity’s most persistent nemesis. Bone fragments and written records indicate that cancer afflicted people in ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt. Today, cancer is America’s second leading killer, …

Sky-rocketing drug prices have captured the nation’s attention. President Trump echoes Senator Bernie Sanders when he asserts that drug companies are “getting away with murder.”[1] Republican and Democratic legislators alike assert …

Hitting the Sweet Spot for Patients and Providers The United States is experiencing a demographic tidal wave. Baby Boomers are turning 65 in record numbers and that trend will accelerate …

Last weekend Senators Jerry Moran of Kansas and Mike Lee of Utah announced they could not support Speaker Mitch McConnell’s Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA). Their defections put …

It was an eventful July 4th weekend in the Land of Lincoln. The Illinois Senate over-rode Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto to pass its first state budget in over two years. …

Senator Mitch McConnell is the most effective Senate Majority Leader since Lyndon Johnson. A tactical maestro, McConnell faces the seeming impossible task of uniting the Republican party’s divergent conservative and …

In the western suburbs outside Minneapolis, two men lead average lives. Surveying them as part of the general population, no health system, insurer or policy maker would notice anything that …

The minute I walked into the new digs of the clinic, I knew it was very different and could get the gist of what they were trying to do. It …

Nature thrives on symbiosis. Its many ecosystems would not exist without important relationships between sometimes strange bedfellows. The oceans’ most colorful coral reefs, for example, are often found in clear …

In a March 29th New York Times article, author Elizabeth Rosenthal chronicles America’s dystopian system for coding and billing medical treatments. Rosenthal concludes that the medical-billing system itself is a …

by Kristin Carey and David W. Johnson Competitive markets drive innovations in business efficiency and strategy. Twenty-five years ago, Big Pharma companies did little outsourcing. Fortified by robust cash flows …

Special Edition: Market Corner Commentary for March 29, 2017 Last Friday was supposed to be the shootout at the healthcare corral where Republican gunslingers were going to take the first …

In late January, I participated in an Oxford-style debate regarding whether healthcare is a commodity. The debate was the featured event at Tata Memorial Centre’s Platinum Jubilee Conference in Mumbai, …

Climbing the highest mountains requires organization, preparation and strategy. Scaling Mt. Everest is a full-scale expedition. Large teams rely on a sophisticated infrastructure of supplies, equipment and support staff. A …

For the better part of a decade, I practiced inpatient hospital medicine at a large academic center (the name isn’t important, but it rhymes with Afghanistan…ford). I used to play …

Insourcing is a time-honored practice employed by market-dominant companies. Rather than contract with external experts, companies dedicate internal resources for specialized functions. While generally less efficient, insourcing enables companies to …

Last September, Massachusetts-based Steward Health Care System announced that it would sell its 9 hospitals to Alabama-based Medical Properties Trust (MPT) for $1.2 billion in a 15-year sale-leaseback transaction with …

Professional football has long since surpassed baseball as America’s most popular sport. The NFL’s Super Bowl is a national party. Super Bowls represent 19 of America’s 20 most-watched TV broadcasts. …

Rome wasn’t built in a day and didn’t collapse overnight. After centuries of growth, prosperity and domination, the Roman Empire began a long slow decline at the peak of its …

The results are in. The National Retail Federation (NRF) just released their survey results for post-Thanksgiving shopping. The numbers were strong. 154 million consumers shopped this holiday weekend, up 2% …

by Todd Rudsenske and David W. Johnson From addiction to depression to psychosis, mental illness exacts a growing toll on individuals, families, communities and health systems. We can measure its …

Seven score and thirteen years ago this month (November 19, 1863), Abraham Lincoln delivered his renowned Gettysburg Address at the dedication for the Soldiers National Cemetery. With the ravages of …

Two weeks ago, I distributed a 5-Point healthcare plan for presumed President-elect Hillary Clinton. That was then. In a remarkable and unprecedented election surprise, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton and …

Enrollment for purchasing health insurance on public health exchanges began November 1st. Headlines for this fourth enrollment period include: 22% average price increases; major health insurers dropping coverage; and single …

Absent a cataclysmic surprise next Tuesday, Hillary Clinton will become the 45th President of the United States. She will govern a divided electorate with highly-polarized elected officials. It’s no longer …

On Saturday evening, the Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant and the City of Chicago went crazy. The Wrigleyville celebration rocked until dawn Sunday morning. After a 71-year absence, …

by David W. Johnson, James Moloney and Carsten Beith   There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’ It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times they …

Organizations fail or decline more frequently because of what they did not do than because of what they did.                                                             Russell L. Ackoff Professor of Management Science Wharton School, University …

by Rafe Hanahan and David W. Johnson Manufacturing built America. The iconic automotive industry epitomizes this organic relationship between industrial strength and economic growth. Since the early days of Ford …

The Cubs just finished the 2016 regular season with 103 wins and baseball’s best record by a mile. They have spectacular pitching, powerhouse hitting and solid defense. Las Vegas odds-makers …

Earlier this month, Ford CEO Mark Fields made two head-scratching announcements to advance transportation services in San Francisco. Ford acquired Chariot, a popular crowd-sourced shuttle-van service that uses algorithms to …

After two-plus years of operations, clear structural flaws have emerged in the design and function of public health exchanges. Health insurance cooperatives have largely failed. Many traditional insurers have suffered …

It was hard not to feel sorry for Mylan CEO Heather Bresch as she sat for an extended CNBC interview on the morning of August 25th. Clearly on the hot …

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars But in ourselves.” [1]                William Shakespeare On July 27th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its first-ever quality …

With Labor Day weekend approaching, state fairs in full swing, and the barbeque calling, most of us have just half a mind on work. At 4sight Health we’re enjoying the …

Bring out the Xanax. Anxiety among Obamacare supporters is skyrocketing. The bad news just keeps coming. Aetna has joined UnitedHealthcare and Humana in announcing plans to exit almost all public …

Midway through the Rio Olympics, the prowess of the diverse, raucous and remarkably talented U.S. team is on full display. We marvel at the athletes’ dedication. Their enthusiasm is infectious. …

In an iconic 1984 commercial for Wendy’s hamburgers, the diminutive octogenarian Clara Peller and two friends are eating hamburgers at the fictional “Home of the Big Bun.” Disappointed by their …

With pride and promise just two short years ago, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) introduced Prominence Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary, that would “significantly advance CHI’s ability to excel in a pay-for-value …

Market Corner Commentary for July 27, 2016 Earlier this month, President Obama took the unprecedented step of authoring an academic research article in The Journal of the American Medical Association …

Market Corner Commentary for July 20, 2016 Last month, Reed Abelson of the New York Times chronicled the challenges of Oscar Health, the venture-funded health insurance company. Despite massive investment, …

The tango is a beautiful, complex, fast-paced dance that gets the heart racing for participants and spectators alike. The intimacy of two partners moving in coordinated lockstep leaves no doubt: …

Health companies experience excessive variation in clinical outcomes, quality metrics, procedure pricing and customer satisfaction. This frustrates providers, payors, employers and patients alike. All Americans want the healthcare system to …

Gold’s glitter and the lure of quick riches led 90,000 unruly prospectors to California in 1849. The gold rush was on and it had rules. Prospectors had to actively work …

The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) released its annual report of healthcare prices last month. To no-one’s surprise, HCCI found huge variation in commercial prices for 240 common medical services …

Liberated data connects people, informs decision-making, stimulates innovation, streamlines production, creates wealth and advances humanity.  The upward trajectory of human accomplishment arises from ever-more sophisticated data exchange supporting ever-more complex …

Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky gave the business world its most over-used strategic metaphor, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”  In healthcare, …

Coming into 2015, Ozzie Delgado confronted a thorny problem. Cleveland Clinic Florida was experiencing expansive demand for surgical services. Occupancy was already at 92% and there would be no capacity …

Wisconsin may never be the same. Green Bay Packers star quarterback announced this month that he has stopped eating dairy products to “get healthier.” As Bart Simpson might observe, the …

Like hospitals that optimize revenues through complex assignment of charges, discounts and subsidies, aligned pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and pharmaceutical companies manipulate retail and net pricing on “branded” drugs to …

At Jeff Shield’s memorial service, Genie Shields proclaimed that her husband’s death has been a “gift,” one that enriches all who receive it. When it became clear that lymphoma would …

Last December the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the proposed merger between Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University Health System. The combined company’s annual revenues would exceed $7 billion. …

People go to Las Vegas to let loose, take in the shows and have fun but mostly to gamble. At HIMSS 2016, payors, providers, investors and other industry insiders are …

Rethinking Healthcare.Gov: As Covered California Goes, So Goes Nation? The 17 state-run healthcare exchanges are real-life “laboratories” for the federally-run exchanges that operate in 34 states. No state exchange has …

After more than a year of research, writing, editing, re-writing, and re-editing, Market vs. Medicine: America’s Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare is being printed and will be available on May …

For over a decade I’ve plodded up and down the Chicago lakefront with the same group of idiotic runners. Through wind, sun, snow and rain we babble about anything that …

Market Corner Commentary for March 2, 2016: Misdirected Fury: The Boston Globe “Spotlights” Concurrent Surgeries At Sunday night’s 88th Academy Awards, Spotlight won the Oscar for best picture. The movie chronicles …

Market Corner Commentary for February 17, 2016-Healthcare’s Productivity Paradox: Ferocious Exploitation of Reimbursed Payment Las Vegas is a strange place to attend a medical conference. In June 2014, the Healthcare …

Market Corner Commentary for February 10, 2016-Big Data’s Ups and Downs: The Good, The Scary and The Creepy Big data analytics are essential for understanding consumer preferences. Collecting, measuring and …

Market Corner Commentary for February 3, 2016-Pursuing What Works: Genetics, Epigenetics and Chronic Disease Genetics-based therapies represent the pinnacle of medical science. Billions of dollars have poured into research to …

Market Corner Commentary for January 27, 2016- U.S. Healthcare in 2016: Enjoy the Sideshow; Watch the Main Event For the sixty-second time, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation repealing Obamacare …

Market Corner Commentary for January 20, 2016 During an investor call in November, the nation’s largest health insurance company (UnitedHealth Group) delivered a body blow to the Affordable Care Act’s …

Market Corner Commentary for January 13, 2016-Manipulating Demand: Paying Patients for Lower-Cost Care In October, Planet Money aired a podcast with the intriguing title “Pay Patients, Save Money.” Their report …

Market Corner Commentary- Health System Governance- for January 6, 2015 John Koster MD and David Johnson The winds of post-reform transformation are blowing through healthcare. Long-established health systems confront existential …

Market Corner Commentary—Demystifying Medical Student Loan Debt, for December 16, 2015 Winston Churchill famously observed that “Russia was a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma.” Churchill’s language provides an …

Almost every healthcare “transformation” discussion includes Kodak’s cautionary tale – how the once iconic company fails to embrace digital imaging, capsizes and drowns. The story’s moral is to embrace disruption, …

Market Corner Commentary for December 2, 2016- November Indigestion: The Idiocy and Promise of Benefit Selection David Johnson and Nathan Bays Dave’s wife Terri Brady is a Senior Leadership Coach at …

Market Corner Commentary for November 12, 2015-The Why, The How and The What: Consumerism, Trust and Brand Love Health systems are awakening to the market reality that consumerism is redefining healthcare …

Market Corner Commentary for November 11, 2015-Getting Right with Consumers: Right Businesses. Right Places. Right Prices. Consumerism has the force and precision of heat-seeking missiles. Customers flocked to Walmart because it …

Market Corner Commentary for November 4, 2015- Righteous Analytics: Right Data. Right Time. Right Way Technology is on the cusp of channeling diagnosis and treatment toward best outcomes at lowest costs. …

“Amazoning” Healthcare’s High Prices A recent Kaiser Health News article reports that prices for basic women’s health services vary dramatically within and across markets. The cost for mammograms in Dallas …

Market Corner Commentary for October 21, 2015-Value Rules: Playbook for Post-Reform Healthcare Warren Buffett famously noted that “price is what you pay and value is what you get.”  In fee-for-service …

Market Corner Commentary for October 14, 2015-“The Cubs Way”: Lessons in Leadership, Cultural Change and Performance Improvement Any team can have a bad century!  The Chicago Cubs define ineptitude.  They …

Market Corner Commentary for October 7, 2015- Calm Before the Storm?  Rating Agencies Lift Negative Industry Outlooks Summer was good to health companies.  Many have never been stronger.  On August 26th,  Moody’s revised …

David Johnson and Nathan Bays-Doc-Fix Legislation: Medicare Makes Physicians an “Offer They Can’t Refuse” After years of temporary fixes and short-term extensions, the U.S. Congress repealed Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate …

Market Corner Commentary for September 23rd-The Tyranny of Average Costing: Profit and COST in Value-Based Delivery Michael Porter, the eminent Harvard Business School professor, defines “value” in healthcare as “achieving the best …

Market Corner Commentary for September 16, 2015-Mind and Medicine: Amplified Healing Through Behavioral Science In announcing his Precision Medicine Initiative, President Obama articulated a medical future where genetic discovery shapes tailored …

Market Corner Commentary for September 9, 2015-Of Metrics and Meaning: Making Sense of Healthcare Quality Ratings As healthcare becomes more consumer-focused, hospital and physician rating systems are proliferating.  Yelp is …

Market Corner Commentary for September 2, 2015-Rebels with a Cause: Venture Companies Attack Healthcare There is a meaningful shift occurring in healthcare private equity and venture investing.  The “smart money” …

Market Corner Commentary for August 26, 2015-Kinky Boots, Swedish Dialysis and Demanding Customers The oldest and best advice in business is “give customers what they want.”  From Broadway to Sweden, …

Market Corner Commentary for August 19, 2015 (disruption)-Individual Mandate: Are You Up for N=1 Healthcare? Yogi Berra famously observed, “The future just ain’t like it used to be.”   In N=1: How …

Market Corner Commentary for August 12, 2015 -King for a Day: Winning Strategies in Post-Reform Healthcare-(#Quality Outcomes) Great leaders ask great questions. Banner Health’s CEO recently wrote and asked me, …

Market Corner Commentary: August 5, 2015-Medicare at Fifty: More Yesterdays than Tomorrows? A version of this commentary appeared in Huron Healthcare’s “Perspectives” on July 30th With Harry Truman watching, Lyndon …

Market Corner Commentary: July 28, 2015-Reimbursement Roulette: Health Companies “Double Down” on Revenue A version of this commentary appeared in “Academy 360” on July 23, 2015 Let the good times …

Market Corner Commentary: July 22, 2015-David Jones’ Locker: Humana and the Perils of Vertical Integration American healthcare is losing the iconic Humana brand.  Aetna has announced it will acquire Humana …

Crossing the Technology Chasm: Tele-ICUs Save Lives and Money The Leapfrog Group’s[1] fact sheet on ICU Physician Staffing estimates that preventable ICU deaths exceed 54,000 each year. This figure excludes …

Market Corner Commentary: July 15, 2015-Uber Up!  Customer Interfacing Discovers Healthcare A version of this commentary first appeared in “Academy 360” on July 9, 2015 More “suits” flock to downtown …

Market Corner Commentary: July 8, 2015-Polling for Meaning: Healthcare, Hospitals and Consumer Sentiment A version of this commentary first appeared in “Academy 360” on June 25th Consumers dislike healthcare but …

Market Corner Commentary: July 1, 2015-No One is an Island: Meaningful Second Opinions A good friend (let’s call him John Donne) in his mid-fifties recently wrote describing his treatment for …

Who knew a routine colonoscopy could illuminate the wild world of healthcare consumerism? Before getting to my story, let’s examine the current state of colonoscopies in America.[1] Colonoscopies are the …

A version of this commentary first appeared April 30th in “Academy 360”-Deep Web Rising: Healthcare’s Looming Cyber Threat Healthcare is a “target-rich” environment for cyber criminals. Cyber attacks on health …

This article first appeared in Huron Perspectives on June 2, 2015-Supreme Court vs. Obamacare II: Decision Time The “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 was Mohammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s second …

Holy Sheets! Fast-Tracking Delivery Innovation Hospitals have used cotton linens since the early 1900s.  Crisp, white sheets touch all patients and epitomize healing.  “Hospital corners” describe the proper way to …

  Hoping to become college basketball’s first undefeated champion in almost forty years, the Kentucky Wildcats captured the nation’s attention as they qualified for this year’s “Final Four” tournament in …

In 1970, George Akerlof published “The Market for “Lemons”: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism” in The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Highlighting used-car sales, Akerlof explored why market failure occurs …

The “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 was Mohammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s second championship fight. In 1967, Ali refused conscription as a conscientious objector. He was convicted of draft evasion, …