From financial strain to workforce fatigue, the pressure points for hospital and health system leaders are multiplying — and for many, the path forward feels increasingly uncertain.
Next year, more than 3,500 executives will meet in Chicago for Becker’s 16th Annual Meeting, an event that’s become a touchstone for health system leaders looking to navigate change with strategy, clarity and — increasingly — collective support.
The four-day event, held April 13–16 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, comes as the sector faces rising operational costs, tighter payer dynamics, a still-unstable labor market, and growing expectations for digital innovation and access. For the executives responsible for leading through this turbulence, the stakes are high — and the decisions complex.
Making Sense of a Shifting Landscape
The meeting’s agenda includes more than 190 sessions and 850+ speakers, but the value for many attendees is less about the number of presentations and more about the cross-pollination of ideas: informal conversations in hallways, debate on panel stages, and high-level exchanges between executives facing similar challenges — even if their systems look very different on paper.
Planned sessions will explore:
- Managing growth and cost pressure in parallel
- Designing care models that address both access and margin
- Developing system leaders who can adapt at scale
- Integrating AI and analytics without widening equity gaps
- Aligning with payers, employers, and retail entrants in a shifting market
- Rebuilding trust with clinicians amid burnout and restructuring
Attendees will represent a wide cross-section of healthcare leadership: CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CMOs, chief strategy officers, presidents, and board members, among others.
Leadership Under Pressure
Recent months have brought renewed attention to the strain on hospital finances — particularly in rural and safety-net systems — as well as growing concerns about the workforce pipeline, regulatory demands on digital infrastructure, and the sustainability of legacy operating models.
For many health system executives, the complexity of running large-scale organizations has only deepened since the pandemic, while the time and space to think strategically has narrowed.
In addition to clinical and operational topics, the 2026 agenda includes an AI Summit and Behavioral Health Summit, along with small-format sessions tailored to specific executive roles.
A Time to Rethink What’s Next
The full list of 2026 speakers includes keynote interviews with:
- Rob Allen, CEO of Intermountain Health
- Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health
- Jochen Reiser, MD, President of the University of Texas Medical Branch and CEO of UTMB Health System
- Peter Pronovost, MD, Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, University Hospitals
At its core, the meeting has become a space for executives to take stock — not just of industry trends, but of how their own leadership must evolve to meet the moment.
Becker’s is offering complimentary registration to qualified health system leaders. To learn more about the event or view session details, click here.
Limited speaking spots still available. Contact agendateam@beckershealthcare.com to learn more.
