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The $1 Trillion Healthcare Transformation: How to Seize the Breakthrough
Host Glenn Hunzinger is joined by Greg Rotz, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Advisory Leader, PwC US, and Thom Bales, Principal, Health Services Advisory Leader, PwC US, for a practical look at what will power the next decade of US healthcare, who will lead, and what leaders should do today.
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We’ve summarized the full discussion in a short Q&A format so you can get the highlights in minutes.
Why this moment, and what will unlock change
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Why is this the moment for change, and what will unlock it?
A. Greg Rotz
Friction is growing across the healthcare system for patients, providers, and administrators. That dissatisfaction is meeting three transformative forces: accelerating digital technology, a deeper understanding of biology, and unsustainable cost growth. Innovation is already taking hold at the edges through virtual first care, new channels, and engaged consumer segments. These trends are compounding and pushing the system toward a tipping point.
What emerges, and what goes away
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Thom, with that backdrop, what emerges and what goes away?
A. Thom Bales
Two trillion dollar forces are shaping the future. Some of that value will transfer to organizations that act early and embrace innovation, while a separate wave of federal cost cutting will drive near term disruption. A new class of super consumers is already emerging—people who are willing to invest in quality, longevity, and convenience. Chronic care is being redefined through earlier detection and prevention. Infrastructure will shift toward virtual and home based care, and organizations will need to rethink how they meet demand across rural and urban markets.
With limited capital, what are the no regrets moves
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Greg, when capital is constrained, what are the no regrets moves?
A. Greg Rotz
No regrets priorities are clear. Leaders should invest to win with the consumer and deliver digital first experiences that enable virtual care. Organizations need to become data first, building analytics, algorithms, and insight engines that reveal what works and what does not. Partnerships beyond traditional swim lanes, including with technology firms, consumer brands, and disruptors, are essential. And to stay ahead of market shifts, a continuous scan and invest discipline should be built, including small venture style bets on emerging solutions.
How to build a disruption mindset and partner more effectively
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
How should leaders think about a disruption mindset and partnering?
A. Greg Rotz
Mapping the full patient journey from wellness and prevention through treatment and recovery is a strong starting point. No single organization can own every step. Real transformation comes from recognizing where others have strengths, forming partnerships to reduce friction, and aligning data and incentives to improve outcomes and lower costs. Collaboration is the accelerant.
What does this mean for payers and providers
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Thom, what does this mean for our provider world and our payer world?
A. Thom Bales
The mission stays the same—improve health, quality of life, and affordability—but the operating model must evolve. Payers must shift from lean legacy models to becoming lifelong health partners that help consumers navigate a growing range of services. If they do not provide platform like access, others will. Providers must prepare for growing bifurcation—consumer centric systems at one end, and safety net institutions at the other. All will need to support virtual and in home care, navigate toward value based models, and increase their organizational speed and agility.
Life sciences and medtech outlook
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Greg, how do you see this playing out for drug makers, medtech, and diagnostics?
A. Greg Rotz
There is tremendous potential in combining science, AI, and engineering to treat and prevent disease. GLP ones offer one example of prevention reshaping therapeutic strategy. But science alone is not enough. Operating models must evolve to deliver therapies more efficiently, and friction in the experience must be reduced for physicians, patients, and payers. Life sciences leaders must also invest in outcome analytics, personalized evidence, and advanced digital tools like digital twins to demonstrate value at a more granular level.
Believers, skeptics, and collaboration
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
Thom, how do believers and skeptics shape what happens next, and how do we inspire collaboration?
A. Thom Bales
Some organizations will remain focused on optimizing legacy models, but that strategy limits long term relevance. The value will shift toward those who act boldly—embracing innovation, aligning with consumer demand, and building new forms of collaboration. The market will segment into super consumers who demand and fund high touch experiences, a mainstream served by traditional benefits, and vulnerable populations who need affordable access. Regulatory alignment and cross sector collaboration will be critical to moving faster and more equitably.
What excites you most about what comes next
Q. Glenn Hunzinger
What are you most excited to see in the years ahead?
A. Greg Rotz
There is real excitement in the possibility of solving previously intractable diseases, delivering precise and personalized care, and designing digital first systems that extend healthy life and reduce friction in care delivery.
A. Thom Bales
There is opportunity every day to rethink how we serve consumers using new tools, data, and digital capabilities. Building lasting relationships with individuals across their health journey is both a challenge and a powerful motivator.
What leaders should do now
Elevate the consumer experience to a true digital standard and make navigation simple. Connect clinical, claims, and outcomes data to deliver more personalized and preventive care. Build partnership capabilities with technology companies, consumer brands, and nontraditional players. Increase the pace of experimentation, and scale what works. Prepare payers to operate as marketplaces. Expand providers’ ability to deliver care virtually and in the home. Pair scientific excellence with experience design and rigorous outcome measurement.
Speakers
Episode transcript
Find episode transcript below.
00:00:04:00 Welcome to PwC's Next in Health. I'm Glenn Hunzinger, PwC's US Health Industries leader. Joining me today is Greg Rotz, our Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences leader, and Thom Bales, our Health Services Leader. Greg and Thom, welcome.
GREG ROTZ:
00:00:19:09 Great to be here, Glenn.
THOM BALES:
00:00:20:16 Yeah. Thank you, Glenn, and happy to be here.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:00:22:18 So, team, we're here to talk about the future of health. I think there's a lot to talk about and a lot to unpack. Obviously, we published our recent thought leadership of what we think it looks like 10 years out and what it's going to take to get there. But ,before we sort of jump into that, let me set the landscape here.
00:00:38:07 The situation we're in, it’s kind of a world of maybe bookends. We've got a lot of amazing things happening when you think about the science of oncology, cardiovascular, gene therapy, procedures and a minimally-invasive implantables, AI to diagnose and robotic surgery. I mean, there's a lot of great things happening across the world of health.
00:00:58:20 There was a lot of passion, a lot of focus. Yet when you think about the consumer, they feel friction. They want things easier, simpler at their fingertips. We look at the world of the doctors. They feel like administrators. We've got a sort of rising population of the baby boomers coming in here, which is driving the costs up $5 trillion and growing at 8%.
00:01:21:21 And so there's just a bit of fatigue and sort of friction in the system, which is unfortunate because we all know -- we all sort of inherited where we are. And I think everybody is passionate about pushing forward the change.
00:01:34:20 And so, the key thing here is how do we inspire a future that is brighter and better? And I think there's a lot of great things happening around having science and health at our fingertips to enable us to be better caregivers, to care for ourself better.
00:01:52:11 And so envisioning what that future looks like and inspiring towards it is something that we feel very passionate about. And so the key question here is there are views of ultimately what that inspired future looks like. People are excited to get there. There's also a lot of it happening now. It's just a little bit subscale. But I think the key question to start this is people want it.
00:02:13:15 They're passionate about it. But Greg, maybe we start right now with what are the unlocks and why would you believe that it's going to happen now? So maybe we'll just start there.
GREG ROTZ:
00:02:23:05 Yeah, Glenn, and thanks again for hosting this for us. This question about this future, and what we'll unlock, and how do we get there, kind of comes back to, like, "Why now?" And in our research, one of the big themes that jumps out is the friction that everyone feels in today's system.
00:02:42:40 The physicians, the patients, the various other players in the ecosystem, whatever statistics you want to look at, are patients delaying care because it's a problem? Yes. Are people sub-optimizing care? Yes. Are physicians and healthcare providers feeling overwhelmed and overburdened with the complexities of the system? Yes.
00:03:01:40 So let's remember that we start with a system that has a huge amount of friction in it. And then, look at this moment in time at three mega forces that are really going to drive change in our view. One is the exponential change in technology and what's happening with our ability to leverage digital tech.
00:03:21:05 The second is our rapidly expanding understanding of biology and what actually causes disease. And the third is the continued rising costs of this system that many folks who are in it are not actually happening with. And that just seems like a tinderbox for disruption.
00:03:44:10 Someone is going to change this system. You have a system that inherently there's a lot of dissatisfaction with, and then you have these exponential forces that are creating new possibilities that didn't exist five years ago. And I think our view is that that's the unlock.
00:03:59:03 That's going to be what causes the change. And it may not happen in the heart of the system next week, but I would just encourage all the listeners to think about innovation happens at the fringe sometimes, and innovation happens in certain pockets.
00:04:15:16 And then it comes mainstream after it hits the tipping points. And we can already see signs of disruption happening. Right? Certain channels getting disintermediated, certain patient segments experimenting with all virtual care, or primarily virtual care.
00:04:30:07 The signs are out there that these exponential forces are creating new possibilities for people to engage in their healthcare in different ways, and they're going to be seeking that given the frictions that they feel in today's environment.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:04:45:06 Yeah. And there's no doubt, just thinking about that $5 trillion growing at 8%, there's a lot to unpack underneath there. Almost 90% of the cost relate to chronic and mental health conditions, which is a staggering number. Obviously, that encapsulates a lot around cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory. The key thing there is you've got to have a very highly regulated business here, legally and otherwise.
00:05:09:16 And it just drives up the admin here. And so, 25% of that costs we think is admin related, which is something obviously when we think about, "Can you reinvent $1 trillion difference in the healthcare system?"
00:05:23:08 Certainly, when we start to unpack that $5 trillion, it becomes pretty identifiable to recognize where those opportunities are. And I think the idea that you just mentioned around science and technology really compounding here sets a tremendous path.
00:05:37:19 Thom, when we think about with that background and backdrop of, like, there is a burning platform, we feel very passionate that that's going to happen because all these forces are kind of moving exponentially together, what emerges? What goes away? How do you see this sort of play now as far as some of the major themes there?
THOM BALES:
00:05:56:03 Yeah. Thank you, Glenn. And there is a lot of change on the horizon for us. And to start with, what goes away when we talk about $1 trillion is actually two different kinds of trillion dollars we're talking about here. The first is a transfer of value that is going to happen to what we'll get to in a little bit around those who are the believers that witnessed the change, that embraced the change, and how that value accumulates to them.
00:06:22:12 In the near term, there's a lot of talk in this industry around a much realer and more challenging trillion dollars, which is the cuts that are coming out of the federal government related to the spend in healthcare that will happen over the course of the next five years plus, it is creating a little bit of pain in the industry. But it's important to remember that even as that comes out, the overall spend on healthcare in the US is increasing.
00:06:47:01 And as that increases and with the changes that Greg talked about around technology and biology, there is actually tremendous opportunity in front of us. And so for those things that emerge, we already start to see today some things that are happening related to what we call a super consumer — those consumers that have an interest in a better quality of life,
00:07:09:03 perhaps longevity, are willing to pay above and beyond what they may be covered for in their benefits, and in many ways lead the way in terms of where we see innovation that then over the course of time, scales and can be leveraged by a broader population.
00:07:25:15 We see things happening today that have occurred related to the innovation, largely because of biology, but also just because of how we monitor our Internet of Things, the digitization of healthcare, that gets to what we're calling chronic care getting rewritten. And so we have acute diseases moving to chronic.
00:07:44:10 We have chronic diseases being managed in a way that enable people to have far better quality of life from beginning to end. And we have chronic care that actually we're starting to get to a point of prevention on and proactively getting in front of.
00:08:00:00 We see the impact of innovation, particularly in healthcare, where I think we're very cautious for many good reasons related to quality and to safety, but innovation possibly outpacing adoption. And when we see this happening, this creates opportunities for different kinds of companies,
00:08:17:08 different kinds of organizations to innovate around the edges and then to come back into mainstream healthcare and possibly over the course of time improve it in more scalable ways. But there's no question that if you just think about what's going on with AI today, you think about all of this incredible innovation we have in our R&D,
00:08:37:10 our ability to actually bring that to scale and impact the population will lag that innovation. That is opportunity. And then, the last thing related to this $1 trillion value shift. Any time that we see this kind of change, there is the opportunity for reconfiguration, re-engineering around what do we actually think the infrastructure footprint needs to be.
00:08:57:10 A significant question for that is being raised right now what the Rural Health Transformation initiative around how is it we create better access at a lower cost, at a higher quality in a more sustainable way for that particular population, much less what we may have going on in urban areas,
00:09:15:20 what we may have going on around different kinds of ecosystems of payers, providers, pharma, consumer coming together in ways that will be a very significant, or at least the potential for a very significant reconfiguration of healthcare.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:09:28:14 And I think (Unintel Phrase __09:28), it's interesting. This super consumer emerging, the stats that we see in our survey, there's a third of the population that sort of sits in the sandwich generation of the millennials and Gen Xs that are caring for their kids, caring for their parents and almost have a huge sort of burden on health, they really want it.
00:09:48:09 They want to be enabled. They want to be able to care better, more holistically. But then, the interesting thing is the next gen coming up, the Gen Z's, they're demanding it, right? They're sort of data native. They want things at their fingertips. And I think you're just that drive. And the stats would show that, listen, they're willing to pay extra to get that.
00:10:08:22 And I think it's going to be fascinating to see ultimately the funding there of that and new business models emerging that certainly could drive a bigger cliff and sort of that downstream. And so, Greg, as we set that landscape of the super consumer,
00:10:24:01 chronic care getting rewritten, the potential collapse of infrastructure, or certainly a thought around how do we do things more virtually, people always say, "Hey, listen, capital is not unlimited. There are only certain things I can do." We all know we need to make things self-funding these days to transform companies and businesses,
00:10:43:01 and certainly our healthcare system. But when people ask you, "Hey, what are the no-regrets move? What should I do? Knowing that ultimately there's not a limit of capital, where do I place my bets?"
GREG ROTZ:
00:10:53:12 Yeah, it's a great question. And I would just add a caveat to recognize that within this complex system, there are a lot of players in the ecosystems. Right? There are academic hospitals, community hospitals. There are drug makers, device makers, diagnostic companies, commercial payers. So each one of those sectors and subsectors will have some unique moves that they want to make.
00:11:15:09 But as we look across the entire landscape, there are a handful of things that come to mind. If you believe that a super consumer is kind of got to be at the center of this model in the future, then if you can't win with the consumer, you're going to lose. So no-regrets moves to invest in consumer capabilities are a good idea.
00:11:33:12 You mentioned the term 'virtual first'. I think a second thing that we would certainly argue is thinking about a 'digital first' experience in healthcare. Also, a no-regret move. And then, as these companies think about making care more personalized, more preventive, some of these themes that we think will drive this reallocation of the $5 trillion obviously being data first,
00:11:56:06 having expertise in algorithms and the ability to kind of translate what working and not working in very personalized ways is going to be a third element. And then, two more I would just offer up. One is the ability to partner with untraditional, nontraditional players, like — What is the relationship going to be with the technology companies?
00:12:17:00 What is the relationship going to be with some consumer brand companies that might allow you to think outside of traditional swim lanes and create more holistic solutions for patients and those super consumers?
00:12:30:05 And then finally, I think this is such a ripe environment for disruption that investing in capabilities to just be aware of what other companies are doing, placing some bets, maybe some venture bets. If your organization does that, to just kind of be aware of the innovation that's happening around you to ensure you don't get outflanked.
00:12:51:02 So I would offer up those handful of ideas as things that we think most organizations regardless of which particular subsector you'd be in would probably be worth thinking about on their strategic agenda.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:13:03:18 Yeah, I think this sort of disruption mindset everyone talks about that, it's really a cultural thing, right? I mean, you got to have that disruptive mindset. You got to be okay that things aren't born at your company, right, in order to partner out there. We talked a little bit about that, but maybe just double click like certain examples you think about.
00:13:22:07 Or what do you think the best way people are going about it?
GREG ROTZ:
00:13:25:12 Yeah, I think understanding the entirety of the patient journey is not a bad starting point. Just pick out my sector. If you're a drug company, you have a certain role to play in the treatment phase of that patient journey. But there's a lot that goes into the patient journey before treatment. Right?
00:13:41:09 There's wellness and prevention that's going on even before symptoms show up. Then there are symptoms, then there's diagnosis, then there's treatment. Hopefully, it's some sort of acute episode that you can get cured and move on. But then, you may need to do some monitoring and taking care of yourself after having been through that. So there's this entire journey.
00:14:02:03 And I think, as we need to think more about bending this cost curve and getting better outcomes for money, thinking holistically across that journey is going to be important, but recognizing that one single organization is unlikely to solve all the challenges in that journey.
00:14:18:05 So I think that opened your mind then to the possibilities on who are the other players and the other steps, who are the innovative companies that are trying something new to disrupt those steps or accelerate those steps, and lay that out. And what does that landscape look like, and what might that imply about some different types of partnerships or innovative arrangements
00:14:40:05 we want to collaborate on, all with the patient at the center. Right. It's all ultimately trying to get to how do we better serve the patients in the US healthcare system to get them to better outcomes?
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:14:51:09 Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, listen, the pace of change has never been faster. You think about both on the technology side and the ability what consumers want. And then, there's certainly the variable of what's going on government, regulatory related to really foster some of that change and drive some of that change. So, certainly speed is here.
00:15:10:23 And having these five critical things in mind as you marshal forward in a day-to-day, I think you provide a great landscape. So thank you for that. Thom, if we think about like, "Hey, what does it mean? Day-to-day, you're dealing with all of our health services clients. You're seeing the community, you're helping drive a healthier America, which is not easy, right?
00:15:31:07 Everyone's got legacy infrastructure and otherwise. But what I love to see and what I always love to hear from you is just a passion that people think about the missions they have around health, health and communities, health for their sort of members. But as you think about how it plays out going forward, can you talk a little bit about what does it mean for a provider world and what does it mean for a payer world?
00:15:51:22 And how do you see this evolving?
THOM BALES:
00:15:53:21 So first of all, across all of that, what does it mean? The mission doesn't change. What these stakeholders, the payers, the providers from our med-tech are all out there to do is to improve health, to improve the quality of life, and to do that more affordably. That doesn't change.
00:16:08:08 In front of that, though, if we think about all of these reasons to believe in the change that is happening, it's not just about having the right capabilities, it's about having the organization capacity to move faster, to change faster, to integrate, to partner with others in new ways
00:16:27:11 that is very different. And as much as we talk about managing cost of care, are we managing the consumer, we also have to be talking about how is it that we move at a pace that is as fast as the market, and really to what Greg said, consumer-first lens to what consumers want. For a payer, there would likely be some legacy payers that continue to focus on very lean models and serving what they've always done.
00:16:52:24 Are they going to be positioned to win? Are they going to be changing the game of it? Probably not. So for payers, they have to be thinking about — how is it that they become partners for life for these consumers with an eye toward some of the super consumers, but certainly is an eye towards the mass population, which they also serve?
00:17:11:01 And what are those capabilities that those consumers are going to demand? There's the possibility for a payer to increase its role serving as a marketplace for different kinds of health services, different kinds of providers that the consumer may have more choice about. And if the payer doesn't provide those or doesn't provide access to those, or doesn't provide the platform for those, it's entirely likely that the consumer goes and searches those elsewhere.
00:17:37:20 And you can think about not only what does that do to your relationship with your member, your patient, your consumer, but it also what does it do to your ability to actually help them navigate what is a very complex thing, even through innovation,
00:17:51:09 will continue to be a very complex landscape. For a provider, it's very similar. One of the things that we do see happening with providers right now, though, is there definitely is a greater segmentation in those providers that are serving on a larger scale.
00:18:07:21 They're serving a more consumer-oriented model versus those providers that are a little bit more safety-net consumer based. And we have to think about the implications of this for all of them. They're all going to be striving for greater quality. There is likely, given the cost pressure at some point here, to be a resurgence in value-based care.
00:18:27:07 But that may come a little bit further out as the consumer creates a demand for utilization for some of the volume for some of the services, that is likely going to offset some of that until they can really see and witness the value and the quality. But with the data that we have, with the innovation we have, we have to believe that that day is going to come.
00:18:46:24 And do you have the infrastructure to be connected to serve the consumer where they are virtual in their home, their different sites of care, and to work with the folks that do that? Those are all significant implications for the payers and the providers that I would just say — staying where you are is insufficient. Moving to where the consumer is going to go, how reimbursement is going to shift is incredibly important.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:19:12:11 Yeah. That's good, Thom. I mean, it's interesting to think about payers as sort of health architects, personalized coverage real-time risk predictors. I mean, changing that along. And then, certainly from a provider perspective, this view of your virtual connected ecosystem and how that gets enabled. Not easy, right? Very difficult given where we are, what capital will be needed.
00:19:35:01 And certainly, technology just plays a huge and massive role in there. But I think that's an exciting future to think about what that could look like. And thanks for setting that landscape. Greg, as we think about sort of that pharma life science world, and we think about sort of the drug makers and med-tech, and diagnostics and otherwise, how do you see this playing out, and what excites you there?
GREG ROTZ:
00:19:56:18 Yeah. Look, I do think it is very exciting. And I would just go back to the question we were chatting about a little bit ago when you were asking kind of what the unlocks are, and I mentioned one of them is this rapidly expanding understanding of human biology that seems to be unfolding right before our eyes.
00:20:13:00 And I think we should look to and expect from our life sciences industry to be at the forefront of harnessing that, harnessing that to — yes, treat disease, and hopefully treat diseases that up until now have been intractable.
00:20:29:00 So let's have some of the breakthroughs that we've all been waiting for in neurosciences and other categories, but also in preventing diseases in the first place. And there's an exciting body of work going on today with the GLP-1s and what they might be able to prevent in terms of downstream diseases.
00:20:46:08 So, I think harnessing the scientific technology, not just in pharmaceuticals but in devices as well, like what's possible with the combination of science and engineering to really harness advanced sensors and other types of device technology that can prevent, better treat, achieve breakthroughs in disease is super exciting.
00:21:08:09 And there is a whole treasure chest of new investment that's going into that when you look at some of these AI-first R&D startups that are getting funded and trying to create a new paradigm that solves the tough scientific challenges and also accelerates the path to getting to prove that these new products work,
00:21:29:09 that these new ideas are actually viable, and they're safe at the same time. So, harnessing the science is going to be one of the hallmarks of the winners in life sciences. But we know, and we've talked about it in this podcast before, that great science alone isn't enough. We need to innovate the business model
00:21:48:20 and the operating model of these companies in order to make sure that that great science translates into results. And I think the second part of this equation is going to be thinking through that context in what a life science company is going to do to remove frictions from the experience of the physicians who need to order these products and administer them, and the patients who need to ultimately consume them.
00:22:11:13 So I think we're going to see an increase in that focus on experience, experience design. We might see new roles in these life science companies around chief experience designers that are really going to help take some of the friction out of today's system, and out of adopting and using, and getting these types of products paid for.
00:22:31:06 And then finally, we can't have any conversation in healthcare generally, and certainly not about prescription drugs and devices, without talking about value. I think we will continue to see new analytics and new understandings and new proof points about where is the value, where are these products really working and not working,
00:22:50:06 as we're able to get way more personalized as the science advances and continuing to invest in value capabilities, generating evidence, applying advanced analytics to really be able to know at a segment level, micro-segment level, and maybe even NF1 as digital twin and other types of technologies emerge.
00:23:11:04 Really, who's benefiting from this and to what degree, and therefore what it's worth is going to be a third capability that's really important. So harnessing the science who are going to be the fastest and most capable in doing that, who is really going to be out on the cutting edge of redesigning the experience of being on one of these life science products, and then going the next level on value,
00:23:33:06 those are all going to be important elements as the life science sector rolls forward.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:23:38:01 The interesting thing is people could envision what that future looks like. I think people are excited about it. They want it, right. Two-thirds of the 4,000 people we surveyed want preventative care. They want their health better, which obviously isn't all the part of the equation. We talk a lot about the $5 trillion that's servicing the health.
00:23:56:22 And we -- and listen, as Americans, we've generally become unhealthier. And so the growing volume of people that need it is something we don't often talk about. We talk about just the pure dollars and some of the challenges in the system. But it's a pretty heavy system and the amount of people that need that.
00:24:13:04 And I think the inspiring thing about people wanting more preventative about starting to change their own health, I think, ultimately it'll take time but it will start to bend that curve, which is huge. And those same two-third people really wanting technology and willing to pay for it, I think gives us hopefully a pathway towards sort of what that future is.
00:24:32:07 And I think that gives us a lot of conviction. Right? But the other challenges you naturally going to have people that'll think it'll change and others won't think it'll change. And so the question is, how does this play out? And Thom, maybe just talk about those bookends of people that do believe and don't.
00:24:48:07 And I think a lot sit in the middle. And how do we inspire that collaboration to ensure we're all moving in the right direction? I think the North Star is clear. The hard thing is how we get there and how we move forward, and how do we sort of enable the world of health. So maybe just talk about from your lens, how do you think about that?
THOM BALES:
00:25:07:05 Thanks, Glenn. And the reality is, is there's a lot to be excited about here with the pace of innovation, what we're learning every single day about what the promise of AI is, what we've seen the incredible possibility of biology, and what it can do to pull us out of a crisis and to move us forward in the future
00:25:24:04 There's just a lot to be excited about. At the same time, we do battle and are challenged by a reimbursement system that makes it at times difficult to move, and makes it at times possible for there to be a segment of our population, a segment of the different stakeholders that are involved here,
00:25:44:30 to sort of say — "The world might not change that much in the next 10 years. That the reality is what we witnessed as healthcare 20 years ago, there's a flavor of that that continues to persist. I can continue to operate my model to optimize against that." We certainly hear folks out there that have done very well around operational optimization.
00:26:05:07 And there probably will be a place for that for a period of time. But the reality is, is that positioning, the reluctance to accept the innovation that is out there to serve the consumer, as we've talked about here, to think about how you work differently with your partners is going to put you into a position of erosion, most likely.
00:26:26:14 The value transfer will happen to others. Those that believe that they see what this opportunity is, that they find ways that even in the uncertainty of what innovation brings, the uncertainty of AI, that there is a promise there of doing things differently, that there's a promise there of substantially lowering the cost of care,
00:26:47:30 providing greater access, providing it to where the consumer wants it, the ability to understand with a far broader data set than what we even have today, around what does it really mean to have a personalized care plan. And there's even the possibility to think about — how do we influence future regulatory reform?
00:27:06:09 What does transformation mean? And are we using our dollars in the right way? And the last thing when I start to think about it as a personal level, there will be choices that we all make as consumers, regardless of income level, around where you choose to spend your dollars.
00:27:23:03 And for some, that will elevate itself to this theory of the super consumer that is going to go above and beyond what we see planned benefits are offering today, whether that be through the government and through employers, or for individuals, but choices and how they choose to consume healthcare.
00:27:40:06 There is likely to be some middle layer, which I'll just call mainstream America, mainstream health-plan benefits that are out there. They find what most folks need within some band, and there will be a set of businesses, and it kind of either revolves around that. And then, at the far end of it, there will be a set of folks
00:27:57:05 that we're going to have to continue to work on around how do we better serve them and how do we better serve them in affordable ways, meet them where they are, and what our role as individual stakeholders is in serving them in that manner.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:28:08:09 I think the personal thing you just mentioned really resonates to me, because I think it's on all of us to lean in, both personally, in our own health, in how we sort of drive out that health, and demand and build our future. Right? It can't just be on one person.
00:28:25:07 And I think that's the thing that excites me most right now is that collaboration, I think, has never been better, and all parties are coming together to sort of solve this because they realize with where we are in technology and the demands that are out there, if they don't come together to solve it, there's going to be somebody that comes in with the capital that
00:28:44:01 will disrupt this, which is already happening. So listen, I'm super excited. I think there are things around intelligent enterprise, whether it's within the med-device world, whether it's sort of wearables, implantables and all that, that I think will really allow us to be more predictive, personalized and allow us to have health where we are versus physically going to places.
00:29:07:04 It screams in the feedback that we hear time and time again that people are already making the change, and certainly with each generation, they're going to demand more and more. So that gives me a lot of excitement. But maybe, Greg, like, what gives you the most excitement here? Like, what are you really curious to see how it plays out and most passionate about?
GREG ROTZ:
00:29:27:19 Look, I think the prospect of conquering diseases that have been up until now very frustrating to the researchers that have been working on those, the ability to really personalize care in very precise ways, and the ability to take the friction out of this experience with a much more digital-first approach, at-home approach, I find that very exciting.
00:29:52:17 One of the leading industry players that we work with refers to this as — "We're in the early innings of a golden age of medicine and potentially a golden age of healthcare, where if we can get this right, we can conquer some of these really tough diseases. We can create individual types of treatment plans and prevention plans for Glenn and for Thom and for Greg that are tailored to us.
00:30:16:04 And we can all have way more resources, way more knowledge, way more capabilities with our own GPTs and digital twins, etc., that make this whole system a lot easier to navigate. What is more exciting than the prospect of more years of a healthy life? More time to spend with family, more time to spend doing the things you love, more time endeavoring on your career without health interruptions.
00:30:42:03 These are very exciting prospects in my mind.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:30:44:17 I love that. Well, eight years and nine months from now, hopefully before that I'll be able to spend more time with family. And Greg, thank you for that. Thom, tough to match Greg's optimism, but let's see if we can get a little East Coast, first West Coast here.
THOM BALES:
00:30:59:04 Oh, I love Greg's optimism. So two things that I would say. So one is, being able to every single day wake up and rethink about how we do business, how we serve these consumers, how we deliver healthcare, how we make this a better place with a set of tools and technology that we don't even understand yet, that is exciting.
00:31:20:03 And this idea that when you think about what it means to have chronic care conditions that extend the opportunities for longevity, the consumer at the middle of it, I think it really raises the question around — what does it mean to be a partner for life to an individual? How are you as an organization going to help them and help them navigate this?
00:31:40:07 Well, will continue to be complex but hopefully simpler environments at each stage of their journey. And those touchpoints and likely you as an individual stakeholder, having to think about expanding those touchpoints and expanding your role with them, I think is incredibly exciting, and I think it's an incredible challenge, regardless of who you are, to establish what does that mean as we go into the future here.
00:32:03:17 So I'm very excited about it. And every morning just saying how is it that I do my own work differently, how is it I live my own life differently, brings me energy.
GLENN HUNZINGER:
00:32:13:04 Thanks, Thom. And I think it's exciting to think about from an enterprise perspective, everyone's focused on it. But the real excitement we know is when you get that tops-down focus as well as that bottoms-up, the citizens driving, demanding, building that sort of new health world. The idea that it's all on us, I think is pretty inspiring, and we should all lean in to be able to do this.
00:32:35:13 And ultimately, I think, folks listening, that's why we think when we think about the future here, it's inspiring. We are at sort of a point we think is an interesting reflection or breaking point. But we have a lot of convictional breakthrough, and I think there's a lot of optimism and opportunity out there for change. And Greg and Thom, thanks so much for sharing your perspectives here.
00:32:58:11 And I thank you all for tuning in to PwC's Next in Health. For more on these topics and other insights across health industries, please subscribe to our podcast at pwc.com/us/next in health podcast. Until next time, this has been Next in Health.
FEMALE VOICEOVER:
00:33:22:19 This podcast is brought to you by PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the US member firm, or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates, and may sometimes refer to the PwC Network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. This podcast is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.
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