2026 is shaping up to be the most consequential year for U.S. healthcare since COVID. Financial fragility, regulatory upheaval, workforce shortages, and deepening instability across Medicare Advantage and value-based models are testing every corner of the system. Fixed costs are rising, margins are tightening, and the current operating model cannot hold.
To stabilize and compete, leaders must build the core systems of a modern, connected health ecosystem — trusted data infrastructure, clear AI governance, true interoperability, payer–provider alignment, and financially viable risk models.
But systems only matter if they perform. Over the next two years, success will be defined by the ability to translate strategy into margin-positive operations, scalable workflows, improved access, and care models that work under real conditions.
That is why the nation's most senior healthcare leaders will convene at Reuters Events: Total Health 2026 in Nashville this October 22-23 . This senior-only forum — capped at 400 — is built for executives responsible for delivery, not theory. Join CEOs, CFOs, CMIOs, payers, policymakers, and innovators to share what worked, what failed, and what must change to restore stability, margin, and trust across U.S. healthcare.
Senior Reuters journalists will take to the main stage to lead incisive interviews, challenge industry leaders with data-driven questions, and provide the independent, agenda-setting perspective that defines Reuters.
Our editors will tackle the tough questions that matter, delivering newsworthy journalism in real time—all moderated under the Reuters Trust Principles that ensure the editorial independence and integrity you expect from us.
Total Health 2025 stands out because of how intentionally it’s being designed, by the very people shaping the future of health care. It’s one of the rare convenings that brings together leaders from every corner of health care – clinical, innovation, policy, and business – with a shared interest in driving system-level change…that’s what made this a priority for me
Margin pressure is coming from every direction — reimbursement volatility, rising costs, and structural inefficiencies that legacy models were never built to absorb. Leaders must act across the full picture: optimising capacity, accelerating site-of-care shifts, transforming revenue cycle operations, and rethinking contracting strategy — while finding credible answers on MA risk viability, Medicaid pressure, and the financial return on prevention.
The clinician shortage is a present operational reality — and incremental responses are no longer sufficient. Leaders must redesign care teams around APP optimisation, virtual and tele-specialty models, and tech-enabled tools like ambient AI and smart scheduling, while tackling the retention, burnout, and change management challenges that determine whether new models actually stick.
AI's potential is only as strong as the data foundations beneath it. Leaders must build enterprise-grade infrastructure, achieve interoperability that actually works, and establish governance and safety guardrails before deployment — while making clear-eyed decisions across clinical AI, ambient documentation, RCM automation, cybersecurity, and cloud strategy.
MA instability and misaligned incentives have eroded payer-provider trust at precisely the moment deeper collaboration is most needed. Leaders must identify which VBC strategies and risk models actually work, redesign contracts in response to shifting MA dynamics, and build the shared data flows and aligned incentives that turn population health from aspiration into measurable results.
Total Health is attended exclusively by senior leaders from the nation’s most influential health systems, payers, providers, and innovators. We’ve carefully curated an environment that prioritizes authentic, high‑value networking. With strictly limited vendor presence, every conversation is relevant, insightful, and grounded in shared clinical, operational, and financial challenges. Expect fresh perspectives, impactful dialogue, and relationships that extend well beyond the event.
Our agenda is built through deep collaboration with our community to ensure every session delivers substance over soundbites. You’ll hear from true healthcare leaders via candid case studies, collaborative roundtables, and varied panel discussions — providing clarity on what’s driving success across care delivery, patient experience, digital health, and population health.
Benchmark your strategy against the best in the industry. Hear directly from senior executives across leading health systems, payers, and life sciences, and gain practical insights from peers in similar roles. Every session is designed to help you measure performance, validate your approach, and apply proven strategies with confidence in complex healthcare environments.
