Jay Asser
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I write stuff. Content/editor @HealthLeaders. Previous: @Sport360, @celticsblog, @SBNation, @MDCollegian. For me... the action is the juice
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Articles by Jay Asser
Hospital Margins Fall as Uncompensated Care, Expenses Rise
The latest financial trends highlight the challenge of sustaining hospital performance as payer mix pressures and rising costs weigh on margins. KEY TAKEAWAYS Year-to-date hospital operating margins declined to 2.5% in August, while the monthly median margin fell to 1.8%. Non-labor expenses per adjusted discharge rose 6% year to date, with supply and drug costs also increasing.
HL Shorts: What Hartford HealthCare's AI Tool Reveals About Patient Behavior
Nearly 26,000 patient conversations show how consumers are using Hartford HealthCare's PatientGPT to ask questions about their health. KEY TAKEAWAYS PatientGPT is integrated into MyChart, allowing patients to access personalized health information within their existing patient portal. Repeat conversations suggest patients are returning to the tool to stay connected with their health system between appointments.
UVA Health CEO: Academic Medicine Needs New Model for Funding Research
Mitch Rosner outlines how academic medical centers can align research with patient care while rethinking their approach to investment and institutional priorities. KEY TAKEAWAYS Academic medical centers face growing tension between clinical revenue demands and the resources needed to maintain their research and education missions. UVA's partnership with AstraZeneca combines academic expertise with pharmaceutical industry resources to advance scientific discoveries.
Large Health Systems Accelerating Hospital M&A Activity in 2026
Dealmaking is trending towards higher-value transactions while financial pressures drive portfolio changes. KEY TAKEAWAYS Hospitals announced 56 transactions through Q3, exceeding the 46 deals recorded in all of 2025. Average seller revenue reached $586 million in Q3, up from $401 million a year earlier, with multiple mega mergers announced for a third consecutive quarter.
HL Shorts: OU Health CEO on the Talent Challenge Impacting Healthcare's Future
This health system leader shares the number one thing keeping them up at night. KEY TAKEAWAYS Talent, resource allocation, and leadership teams are key to OU Health's goals as workforce shortages affect complex care. Advanced subspecialty services require multidisciplinary teams to bring complex care to patients across Oklahoma.
How Corewell Health Is Building a Stronger Link Between Care and Coverage
CEO Tina Freese Decker is integrating Priority Health with the health system's clinical operations to connect patient care with prevention and long-term health management. KEY TAKEAWAYS Tina Freese Decker says Corewell’s relationship with Priority Health gives it a longitudinal view of patients that can better inform care decisions. Corewell is using Epic to connect health plan data with clinical operations, with the goal of identifying members who need preventive care and coordinating follow-up.
Digital Health Purchasers Are Raising the Bar for Value
Digital health spending is becoming more selective as health plans, employers, and health systems narrow their portfolios and place greater scrutiny on vendor performance. KEY TAKEAWAYS Purchasers are pulling back on digital health spending growth, with more organizations holding steady and maintaining smaller portfolios. Performance-based contracts are shifting more financial risk to digital health vendors. Weak member engagement is becoming a barrier to additional digital health investment.
Healthcare Has Delivered 75% of U.S. Job Growth Over Past Year
Healthcare employment is growing even as overall jobs remain largely flat, reinforcing the industry’s prominent role in the labor market. KEY TAKEAWAYS Healthcare added 372,000 jobs over the past year, accounting for 75% of U.S. net job growth. Healthcare employment now represents 11.7% of all U.S. jobs, an all-time high. Private healthcare and social assistance are projected to account for about 37% of all new U.S. jobs through 2035.
HL Shorts: How UHS Is Finding the Right Level of Behavioral Healthcare for Patients
CEO Marc Miller explains how the health system is expanding its behavioral health model to give patients more flexibility in where and how they receive care. KEY TAKEAWAYS UHS has expanded its outpatient offerings over time to give patients alternatives to inpatient care when their clinical needs allow. The Talkspace acquisition adds a virtual option that can support patients before they need higher-acuity care and after they leave an inpatient setting.
Allegheny Health Network's Turnaround Sets Stage for New Growth Strategy
CEO Mark Sevco shares how the health system is using its improved financial position to strengthen its operating model and advance care delivery. KEY TAKEAWAYS AHN is generating more volume from its existing footprint by improving patient access and strengthening relationships with referring physicians. The system is using its Highmark relationship to advance a population health strategy, with payer and provider data informing efforts to lower total cost of care.
How Health Systems Can Close 92% of the Projected Workforce Gap
New analysis outlines ways healthcare can expand workforce capacity as the shortage grows through 2040. KEY TAKEAWAYS Health systems can take a bigger role in workforce development by investing in education and training programs that create a pipeline into their organizations. Keeping experienced clinicians in the workforce is a priority, with clinician well-being key to retention.
HL Shorts: AI Should Help Clinicians 'Think Better, Not Think Less'
As AI becomes more embedded in care delivery, hospitals and health systems must consider how clinicians use the technology and continue developing their own expertise. KEY TAKEAWAYS AI can help clinicians identify important patterns and information while leaving final decisions with the provider. Medical education will need to teach clinicians when to use AI and when to rely on their own clinical reasoning.
How Sanford Health's Latest Merger Is Accelerating its Transformation
CEO Bill Gassen views the North Memorial combination as a way to connect rural and urban capabilities and propel meaningful change across the organization. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sanford Health CEO Bill Gassen says the merger with North Memorial Health will allow for a renewed response to mounting pressures on healthcare delivery. Sanford’s integration strategy calls for examining both organizations’ processes rather than automatically adopting Sanford’s approach.
HL Shorts: Sutter Health's CEO Says 'Make Change Work for You' to Drive Transformation
Warner Thomas believes leadership systems and organizational structure can help health systems sustain change without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sutter Health uses regular operating reviews, strategy execution, communication, and talent processes to keep change moving after the initial transformation effort. CEO Warner Thomas argues that the right systems can reduce bureaucracy by creating alignment and transparency around priorities.
Why AI Transformation Should Start with the Problem
Hartford HealthCare Medical Group's president shares the leadership lessons from the health system's implementation of AI across clinical and operational workflows. KEY TAKEAWAYS AI adoption should start with the problem that needs to be solved, rather than the technology being offered. Clinicians need a role in evaluating AI from the beginning to build trust and support implementation.
Healthcare's Gen Z Retention Challenge May Be a Career Development Problem
A new survey highlights the gap between Gen Z healthcare workers’ desire for long-term stability and the career development support they need from their employers. KEY TAKEAWAYS Seventy percent of Gen Z healthcare workers expect to look for a new role within the next year, compared with 59% of healthcare workers overall.
Hospital Leaders Can't Predict Policy Shifts, But They Can Prepare for Them
Uncertainty in Washington is making it essential that CEOs and CFOs determine how they'll respond before those policy risks become operational challenges. KEY TAKEAWAYS CEOs can use scenario planning to prepare for different policy outcomes without trying to predict what Washington will do. Establishing clear triggers can help leaders determine when a policy development warrants a strategic response. CEO-CFO alignment can connect policy risk to financial planning and strategic priorities.
HL Shorts: Why 'Learning Agility' Matters for Healthcare's Future Workforce
"The biggest skill is change management, being able to learn, want to learn, and have access to that learning space," says this health system CHRO. KEY TAKEAWAYS Learning agility will become increasingly important as healthcare roles and required skills continue to change. Employers can help employees adapt by creating ongoing access to education, training, coaching, and mentorship.
OU Health CEO: Why 'Knowing Your Lane' Is a Competitive Advantage
Jonathan Curtright shares how the health system's growth strategy revolves around building on its strength as an academic medical center rather than trying to be everything at once. KEY TAKEAWAYS OU Health increased ambulatory visits from about 650,000 to 1.1 million by changing physician incentives, expanding its medical staff, and adding subspecialty capacity.
The CEO-CFO Alignment Test: 5 Questions Before You Finalize 2027 Planning
These questions can help CEOs and CFOs identify gaps in their planning before those differences affect execution. KEY TAKEAWAYS CEOs and CFOs need a shared view of which priorities will drive the organization in 2027. Financial plans depend on operational assumptions that should be understood across the leadership team. Clear decision rights can help keep the organization on track as conditions change. Hospital leadership plans are only as strong as the alignment behind them.
HL Shorts: AI Could Finally Deliver on the EHR's Promise
AI is a catalyst for rethinking automation and making decades of EHR data more useful, says this health system chief information officer. KEY TAKEAWAYS AI is giving health systems a new way to automate time-consuming work across departments. The technology could also help turn years of EHR data into information that is actually useful.
UHS CEO: The Future of Behavioral Health Is a Connected Continuum
Marc Miller believes the combination of UHS and Talkspace can create something missing from behavioral health: a linked path across levels of care. KEY TAKEAWAYS UHS is using the acquisition of Talkspace to connect behavioral health services across care settings, giving patients more flexibility based on their needs. Talkspace expands UHS’ behavioral health reach nationally without requiring the health system to build facilities in every market.
CEOs Want Growth. Are the Capital Tradeoffs Explicit?
CEOs and CFOs must align on what the organization can afford to pursue and what it can realistically execute. KEY TAKEAWAYS Capital constraints should shape growth strategy from the outset, not after priorities have been established. Strong returns on strategic investments can create capacity to fund organizational and mission priorities. CEOs and CFOs need shared clarity on which investments deserve priority and what it will take to execute them.
No ROI, No Purchase: Healthcare Buyers Want Vendors That Prove Their Value
Leaders are taking a closer look at what vendors can deliver before committing organizational resources. KEY TAKEAWAYS ROI is a prerequisite for vendor engagement, with 76% percent of buyers saying proof of return on investment or cost savings is necessary for the price of admission. Product demos and vendor webinars rank as the top two buying-intent signals, while clicking a digital ad ranks last by a wide margin.
HL Shorts: The Risk of Using AI to Push Physicians Harder
The value of AI will depend on how hospitals and health systems use the time it gives back to physicians, says this medical college educator. KEY TAKEAWAYS Reducing administrative burden through technology could give physicians more time to focus on patients and better work-life balance. Providers risk undermining those gains if AI-driven efficiency turns into higher expectations for physician productivity.
Results Over Loyalty: Healthcare Leaders Aren't Married to Their Vendors
New research finds most healthcare buyers evaluate new vendors with each project, challenging the idea that existing relationships carry forward. KEY TAKEAWAYS Seventy-three percent of healthcare buyers evaluate new vendors for every project, highlighting the need for vendors to continually demonstrate their worth. Leaders are researching best practices independently, with 54% engaging vendors only once they are narrowing their shortlist.
CEOs Are Already Strategizing for 2027. Is Your CFO at the Table?
A strong CEO-CFO partnership is essential to connecting strategic ambition with the financial discipline needed for successful planning. KEY TAKEAWAYS Siloed planning can leave hospitals and health systems constrained by decisions that were made before priorities were fully aligned. Rising costs, workforce challenges, regulatory changes, and rapid technological advancement are intensifying the tradeoffs facing leaders.
Sutter CEO: 'It's Not About Getting Bigger, It's About Getting Better'
Warner Thomas sees scale as a way to build capabilities and improve care, challenging the idea that health systems should view size as a problem or the goal. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sutter Health CEO Warner Thomas believes the combination with Allina Health is as a way to pair complementary strengths, not just expand its footprint. Thomas expects demographic and reimbursement pressures to push more health systems toward consolidation.
AI Adoption Is Advancing. Health Systems' Guardrails Need to Catch Up.
A new report finds that organizations are rapidly deploying AI while governance, testing infrastructure, and approaches to measuring value remain uneven. KEY TAKEAWAYS More than 90% of surveyed health systems have deployed third-party AI, with clinical documentation leading adoption. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their AI strategy is developing or ad hoc, while fewer than half have a dedicated environment for testing AI solutions.
HL Shorts: Why Healthcare Needs to Meet People Where They Are
"We have to move from being a sick care system to being a healthcare system," says this health system CEO. KEY TAKEAWAYS Providers need to make care easier to navigate and more coordinated across settings. Greater use of data and digital capabilities could help hospitals identify opportunities to support people before they need acute care.
The Winning Edge for Leading Digital Innovation at Scale
Digital transformation is creating new opportunities for hospitals and health systems while raising new questions about how technology should be integrated and managed. KEY TAKEAWAYS Digital leaders need to balance disciplined investment decisions with flexibility as emerging technologies evolve. Technology creates lasting value when organizations plan for how it will change workflows and support the people using it.
What It Takes to Turn Digital Innovation into Value
Leaders from MUSC, BayCare, and Phoenix Children’s share how they’re thinking about maximizing technology adoption. KEY TAKEAWAYS Digital investments need measurable outcomes, even when their value extends beyond financial returns. Efficiency gains only create value when organizations determine how to use the capacity technology creates. Greater reliance on digital tools requires organizations to prepare for downtime and maintain human oversight.
Infographic: 5 Questions to Ask Before Scaling a Digital Innovation
With new technologies emerging at a rapid pace, hospital leaders need a clear framework for navigating digital transformation. KEY TAKEAWAYS Digital initiatives are more likely to succeed when they address a clearly defined need and fit into existing workflows. Successful scaling requires measurable outcomes, strong organizational support, and a plan for adoption after initial implementation.
Digital Innovation Is Here. Can Hospitals Make It Scale?
As providers invest heavily in digital technologies, the next challenge is building the foundation to turn innovation into lasting change. KEY TAKEAWAYS Digital leaders must prioritize technologies that align with organizational strategy and demonstrate measurable value. Scaling digital initiatives requires clinician engagement and integration into existing clinical and operational workflows.
Healthcare Job Openings Drop Sharply as Organizations Turn to Internal Talent
The sector recorded the largest decline in job openings among major industries in June, highlighting the growing importance of retention and redeployment strategies. KEY TAKEAWAYS Healthcare and social assistance job openings fell by 147,000 in June, marking the sector’s largest monthly decline since July 2025 and the biggest drop among major industries. The cooling labor market may point to hospitals and health systems prioritizing retention and development efforts over recruitment.
Inside the Conversations Shaping Hospital CEO Strategy in 2026
Hospital and health system executives at the HealthLeaders CEO Exchange prioritized growth and governance for a changing healthcare landscape. The HealthLeaders CEO Exchange offered a window into how hospital and health system leaders are viewing strategy during a time of unavoidable industry transformation.
HL Shorts: The Leadership Habit That Slows Hospital Transformation
Governance should help organizations make decisions, not create more meetings, says this health system CEO. In this episode of HL Shorts, Diana Richardson, president and CEO of Merrimack Health, explains why enterprise transformation depends on effective governance, starting with timely decision-making and giving leaders clarity during periods of change. VIDEO
Live from CEOX26: 3 CEO Strategies for Turning Workforce Stability into Financial Recovery
Health system leaders at the HealthLeaders CEO Exchange shared how their organizations' approaches to the workforce are driving improved financial performance. Hospitals and health systems have made significant progress recovering from the financial strain of the pandemic, but leaders say sustained performance depends on more than improving margins.
Straight from CEOX26: 3 CEO Strategies for Turning Workforce Stability into Financial Recovery
Health system leaders at the HealthLeaders CEO Exchange shared how their organizations' approaches to the workforce are driving improved financial performance. Hospitals and health systems have made significant progress recovering from the financial strain of the pandemic, but leaders say sustained performance depends on more than improving margins.
Infographic: 5 Lessons for Modernizing Digital Patient Access
MUSC's Crystal Broj shares the principles that guided the organization's effort to create a more consumer-friendly digital access experience. Providers continue investing in digital tools to improve patient access, but technology alone rarely determines success.
Health Services M&A Activity Slows as Investors Grow More Selective
Deal value held steady in the first half of 2026 as investors targeted assets with reimbursement stability and AI-driven growth potential. Health services M&A remained active in the first half of 2026, though investors are taking a more cautious approach amid reimbursement uncertainty and policy concerns, according to a report from PwC.
HL Shorts: Why Cancer Centers Must Invest Beyond Their Own Walls
CEO Robert Stone says cancer centers need to raise the standard of care in the community, where most patients receive treatment. In this episode of HL Shorts, City of Hope CEO Robert Stone explains how the reality that most cancer patients receive care in community settings is shaping the organization's approach to expanding access to specialized cancer expertise. VIDEO
How MUSC Is Rethinking Patient Access Around Consumer Behavior
The rise of self-service healthcare is pushing hospitals and health systems to design access strategies on patients' terms. Providers have spent years building digital front doors, yet many patients still struggle to find care. Crystal Broj, chief digital transformation officer at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), believes the problem lies in the gap between how consumers want to engage with healthcare and how many organizations still deliver access.
HL Shorts: AdventHealth CEO on the Next Phase of Health System Growth
As care shifts into outpatient settings, AdventHealth is expanding through primary care and ambulatory networks while reserving hospital capacity for the most complex patients. In this episode of HL Shorts, David Banks, president and CEO of AdventHealth, explains how the model of health system growth is changing and why his organization is investing in primary care, ambulatory services, and distributed care networks.
3 Leadership Challenges Hospital CEOs Are Tackling in 2026
The upcoming HealthLeaders CEO Exchange will bring executives together to work through the biggest pain points in the industry today. As hospitals and health systems continue to evolve, leaders are confronting the challenge of making their organizations work as one. That topic be front and center at the upcoming HealthLeaders CEO Exchange, where hospital executives will gather to discuss strategies for integrating operations, aligning leadership teams, and driving sustainable growth.
The Winning Edge for Enterprise Transformation Leadership
Hospital executives discuss the leadership habits that help organizations keep transformation efforts on track. Transformation rarely happens through a single initiative. It takes consistent leadership and a willingness to adapt as conditions change.
Infographic: The Executive Playbook for Enterprise Transformation
Hospital leaders can utilize these practical strategies for guiding enterprise transformation and sustaining organizational alignment. Every hospital leader understands the need for transformation. The greater challenge is creating an environment where change can actually take hold.
What It Takes to Lead Successful Enterprise Transformation
Leaders from Merrimack Health and Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital share strategies for organizations navigating large-scale change. Hospital leaders are under pressure to modernize and optimize, but identifying what needs to change is just the first step. Executing that change is often what separates successful organizations from antiquated ones.
Enterprise Transformation Starts at the Top
Embracing change is no longer optional for hospital leaders wanting to turn strategy into organization-wide action. Here’s the reality facing hospitals: If you aren’t evolving, you risk being left behind. Between workforce shortages and shifting patient expectations, to digital innovation, there’s no shortage of areas demanding organizational change. The challenge for hospital leaders is figuring out how to make change work at scale. Success hinges on executive leadership.
Why UMass Memorial Health Is Slowing Down Before It Speeds Up AI
By Jay Asser In a rush to be among the first, it can be easy for hospitals and health systems to succumb to the AI craze and deploy it prematurely. UMass Memorial Health, meanwhile, is taking a more measured approach before scaling the technology. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of the Worcester, Massachusetts-based health system, believes hospital leaders risk wasting time and money if they’re purchasing AI tools ahead of addressing workforce readiness and data infrastructure.
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