Radio Advisory

312: Are declining hospital volumes the new normal?

Health systems across the country started calling Advisory Board with the same question: Why are our volumes down? In this episode, Abby Burns, Clare Wirth, and Vidal Se

311: The biggest ASC trend isn't growth. It's strategic variation.

For years, the story of ambulatory surgery centers was all about moving care out of the hospital. But the most important ASC trend today isn't growth. It's variation. Or

310: Finding margin in providers' new policy reality

Protecting provider margins has never been easy. But today’s combination of policy shifts, reimbursement changes, labor pressures, and evolving care models is forcing hea

[Encore] How Rush University Medical Center is closing the 'death gap'

(This episode originally aired on February 10, 2026. Dr. Omar Lateef has since announced his intention to retire from Rush Health in June 2027.) As financial pressure mo

[Encore] Why all providers should be watching what’s happening in pediatrics

(This episode originally aired on February 3, 2026. Stay tuned towards the end of the conversation for an update on the state of pediatric hospitals midway through 2026.)

[Encore] How data‑savvy strategic planners will define the next era of health system growth

(This episode originally aired on March 17, 2026.) As health systems pursue growth beyond traditional avenues, the role of the strategic planner is becoming increasingly

309: Regional health plans attempt a financial turnaround

For years, regional health plans benefited from powerful tailwinds: Medicare Advantage growth, Medicaid expansion, and a prospering ACA marketplace. But many of those gro

308: How digital health innovation is centering the patient, with Rock Health

In this episode, Abby Burns welcomes back Megan Zweig, CEO of Rock Health Advisory, to answer audience questions submitted during Advisory Board's Research Summit in Carl

307: The oncology trends every healthcare leader should watch

Oncology is simultaneously one of healthcare's greatest success stories and one of its biggest financial challenges. Cancer care continues to benefit from breakthroughs i

306: VBC in 2026: What’s now and what’s next?

Value-based care is entering its accountability era. Participation in value-based arrangements continues to grow, even as financial pressures weigh down on both providers

305: “The work isn’t easy, but it’s clear”: How healthcare leaders are responding to the market

After years of uncertainty, many healthcare executives say they’ve experienced more change in the past five years than in their entire careers. Policy shifts, evolving pa

304: Boom, bust, or bubble? Rock Health weighs in on digital health funding in 2026

Digital health funding is heating up—but where are the dollars going? And what does it mean for health systems’ digital health strategies? In this live episode, recorded

303: The hard truths behind the fight for commercial volumes

As health systems anticipate greater downward pressures on margins in the months and years to come, they’re homing their growth strategies accordingly. As we’ve been sayi

302: CMS announced the 2027 MA final rate. What do payers and providers need to know?

CMS continues to pull on the levers it has at its disposal to rein in national healthcare spend, including rulemaking around Medicare Advantage. In April, CMS announced t

301: Maternity care moves back to fee-for-service

Maternity care touches nearly every corner of the U.S. health system. About 25% of all hospitalizations involve a mother or newborn, and maternity spending accounts for r

300: How policy whiplash is shaping healthcare: Live from D.C. with KFF’s Julie Rovner

Health care leaders are navigating one of the most volatile policy environments in decades. The next major reform fight hasn’t arrived yet — but in its place, a steady wa

299: Is the nursing workforce stabilizing? What leaders should act on now.

After a decidedly difficult few years in the world of nursing, things have seemingly gotten better — at least, on paper. And that’s reflective of a lot of hard work on th

298: Battle of the bots? Separating AI hype from value in revenue cycle

Across the industry, leaders are talking about a “battle of the bots”—with payers and providers racing to deploy AI across the revenue cycle. But that narrative may be mo

297: Consumerism still hasn’t caught on in healthcare. Will it ever?

After more than a decade of effort, healthcare still struggles with the same consumer pain points: affordability, access, and trust. Despite investments in price transpar

296: The real value of price transparency, and how leaders should engage

What has price transparency data taught us about healthcare prices? Price transparency laws were originally put in place to make it possible for patients to act like cons