Tackling Healthcare Affordability and Chronic Disease at Blue Shield of California with Mike Stuart

In this episode, Perry Sham, Chief Financial Officer at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, joins the podcast to discuss managing rising healthcare costs and identifying opportunities for growth through joint ventures and strategic partnerships. He also shares his perspective on what defines an effective CFO in today’s evolving healthcare landscape, from financial stewardship to strategic leadership.

This episode features Chuck Porth, CEO at Uncompahgre Medical Center. Here, he discusses his career journey, how healthcare is evolving in rural areas, what initiatives he is currently focusing on, and more.

This episode recorded live at the Becker’s 16th Annual Meeting features Dr. Shawn Griffin, CEO of URAC, who explores how healthcare organizations can build trust in AI through strong governance, ethical leadership, and independent accreditation. He also shares why holding both developers and health systems to consistent standards is critical as AI scales across care delivery.This episode is sponsored by URAC.

This episode features Stacey Conklin, CNO of Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Here, she does a deep dive into her thoughts on AI strategy, how her organization is currently using it, how it will be used in the future, and more.

This episode features Marwan G. Fakih, MD - Medical Oncologist, Professor, Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research, Deputy Director, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Division Chief, GI Medical Oncology, Co-director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at City of Hope. Here he shares his thoughts around potentially screening younger patients, due higher rates of colon cancer. He also discusses the importance of educating patients to not overlook potential symptoms, clinical trials, and more.

This episode features Aqib Zehri, MD, Neurosurgeon at The Oregon Clinic. Here he discusses his thoughts on access to care, exhausting non-surgical options first, what he is doing to improve quality outcomes, and more.

This episode features Nishaminy Kasbekar, BS, PharmD, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Penn Medicine. Here she discusses the importance of meeting patience where they are, making sure pharmacists are more integrated in the entire continuum of care, AI and automation in pharmacy, and more.

In this episode, Mike Stuart, President and CEO of Blue Shield of California, shares how his finance and provider background shapes a systems approach to improving health outcomes, strengthening provider partnerships, and addressing rising healthcare costs. He also discusses the growing impact of chronic disease and why collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem is critical to making care more affordable and accessible.

In this episode, Meena Bansal, MD, FAASLD - System Chief, Division of Liver Diseases Director, MASH/NASH Center of Excellence, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses newly approved therapies for MASH and the growing impact of GLP-1 medications. She also shares insights on personalized treatment, early intervention, and the future of liver disease care.

In this episode, Meena Medler, Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Sutter Health, shares how integrated value analysis, supplier partnerships, and strategic sourcing are improving patient care and operational efficiency. She also discusses leveraging AI, automation, and ERP optimization to drive innovation, elevate the workforce, and position the organization for growth in 2026.