Following the Senate’s approval of the revised One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Nemours Children’s Health Executive Vice President and CFO Caswell Samms III has emphasized the Jacksonville, Fla.-based health system’s focus on advocacy and providing high-quality care amid Medicaid funding uncertainties.
“For Nemours, we are not in any type of panic mode,” Mr. Samms said during a Becker’s CFO+Revenue Cycle Podcast episode. “We are staying strategically focused. We are monitoring, we are advocating, we are talking about the importance of pediatric healthcare and the appropriate funding. But we are not going to panic. We are not going to take our eye off the ball.”
The 887-page legislation aims to decrease Medicaid spending by almost $1 trillion, with the number of uninsured people increasing by 11.8 million by 2034. The bill is now with the House for consideration.
Amid potential policy shifts, Mr. Samms, who has been with Nemours since late March, said the health system is committed to long-term strategic goals.
“We are going to remain steadfast in our strategic investments to the community that we continue to serve,” he said. “But as all organizations are doing, we are continuing to monitor what’s happening, continue to make the appropriate advocacy, but also continue to make sure that we invest in growth, invest in technology and invest in all the things that are required from a whole child health perspective.”
Mr. Samms also offered insight into how the CFO role has changed over his 27-year healthcare career. Rather than focusing on accounting specifically, he said modern CFOs must be deeply integrated strategic leaders.
“I have seen the CFO switch from being more of your normal accountant to being more of a strategic visionary,” he said. “[Not] only do I need to understand the financial aspects of our business, I need to understand our business. I need to be able to collaborate with our physicians, our operators … not only to explain it to the board from a financial perspective, but also have the operational insight that is needed.”
Mr. Samms said his goal as a financial leader is to be the ‘No. 1 cheerleader’ for Nemours clinical and operator leaders.
“My goal is not only to be there and support you from behind the scenes, but I want to be there with you as we make the appropriate investments,” he said. “[I] think it’s critically important to have a CFO that’s going to be not just a person who is looking at the numbers, but also understanding what’s behind the numbers.”
