VBC Insights: From Negotiation to Collaboration: The Evolution of Payer Strategy

S4E1: What's Trending NOW is rethinking rural medicine by building physician pipelines through academic partnerships. On this episode Shahid is joined by Dr. Sherri Morgan, Chief Administrative Officer for the Morehouse School of Medicine Regional Medical Campus at Phoebe Putney Health System in Albany, Georgia. Rural healthcare across the US faces a growing crisis: physician shortages, hospital closures, and persistent health inequities. But innovation doesn't always require new technologies or billion-dollar infrastructure investments. Dr. Morgan shares how a groundbreaking academic–clinical partnership is expanding physician training opportunities, strengthening community engagement, and addressing healthcare workforce shortages in rural communities.

On this special episode Dan announces an exciting new chapter: Lumina Health Partners has joined ECG Management Consultants. Dan is joined by Terri Welter, Partner and Leader of ECG’s Payer Strategy and Contracting Division. Together, they explore the evolving dynamics between payers and providers, the growing role of advanced analytics and transparency data in negotiations, and how reimbursement models are shifting in response to mounting market pressures. The conversation dives into key trends in value-based care, physician compensation alignment, clinically integrated networks, and the strategic use of data to drive sustainable performance. As healthcare organizations face increasing financial and operational strain, this episode highlights how deeper expertise, stronger analytics, and more collaborative payer-provider strategies can lead to smarter negotiations and stronger outcomes.

On this episode Justin records live at ViVE 2026 in LA. Stay tuned for the next few weeks to hear all his guests. This week, Chris Paravate, MBA, PMP, CHCIO, CDH, CPHIMS, SVP, Chief Information Officer, Northeast GA Health System and Michael Silverstein, Managing Partner of Healthcare IT & Life Sciences, DRI. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

On this episode Jim records live at HIMSS 2026 in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for the next few weeks to hear all his guests. This week, Charlie Harp, CEO at Clinical Architecture, and Dr. Joel Salamon, Medical Director of Pain Management at ModMed. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Host Matt Fisher talks to Alli Oakes, Chief Research Officer at Trilliant Health, about Identification of major 2026 healthcare trends; intersection of value and affordability issues with not focusing on fundamentals enough; incentivizing better behaviors and choices through dfferent structural decisions; changes in utilization and reflection on evolving means of access. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

E&M coding performance rises or falls on ten predictable breakpoints that drive payment, denials, rework, audits, and compliance risk. Join our panel for a practical discussion on what fixes those breakdowns and how AI supports scalable oversight through pattern detection, documentation review, exception based workflows, and autonomous E&M coding with human specialist exception handling. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

Can Direct Primary Care Save Families $1,000/Month? Dr. Josh Umbehr, Founder of Atlas.MD, shares the financial benefits of direct primary care to both patients and providers, how Atlas’ insurance product works, and why he believes healthcare should be too inexpensive to insure in the first place.  All that, plus the Flava of the Week about Nourish offerings free lab work. What’s behind them now integrating lab work into their digital nutrition services, and is this a signal of where preventive care is headed?  Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

On this episode you will hear the live taping of This Just In Radio at HIMSS26 in the Healthcare NOW Radio studio in Las Vegas. Host Justin Barnes along with his producer Roberta Mullin engage with industry leaders around trending topics from the conference. Guests include: Richard Atkin, CEO Greenway Health Matthew Unangst, Sr Director, AMD Enterprise Solutions, AMD Aneesh Chopra, Author, Innovator, Former US CTO, Chair of Arcadia Institute Mariann Yeager, CEO of the Sequoia Project Nelson Gomes, EVP of Growth, Strategy & Partnership, Medicus IT To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

On this episode host Raj Sundar explores how ⁠South Park Senior Citizens⁠ transformed from an institutional, siloed resource hub into a vibrant cultural community, using food as a powerful tool for healing and connection. They dig into the intentional redesign of their dining experience, creating a welcoming space where elders from diverse backgrounds gather around beautifully set tables to share meals, stories, and traditions. Through immersive cultural programming, farm-to-table partnerships, and a dedicated team who speak the languages and share the lived experiences of their community, we show how addressing food insecurity is deeply tied to combating social isolation, honoring elders, and fostering meaningful cross-cultural relationships. The conversation is a rich reminder that culturally responsive care is less about big budgets and more about intentionality, dignity, and truly seeing those we serve. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

On this episode host Tom Foley invites Tom Leary, SVP and Head of Government Relations for HIMSS to discuss AI's role in healthcare and its implications ahead of the upcoming HIMSS 26 conference in Las Vegas. Tom shares insights into the conference's key themes, including AI's responsible use, federal versus state policy direction, and the need for legislative action to create a comprehensive framework for AI in healthcare. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen