Becker’s asked five health system strategic leaders about the role value-based care plays in their system’s strategic planning and how they’re managing the challenges it presents.
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Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What role does value-based care play in your system’s strategic planning? And how are you managing the financial and operational challenges it presents?
Trevor Bennett, MSN, RN. Chief Administrative Officer for Providence Swedish First Hill and Cherry Hill in Seattle: Value-based care is no longer an abstract future concept, it’s a present-day operational reality that must be embedded into how systems plan, operate, and measure success. Strategically, value-based care forces alignment across quality, access, cost, and outcomes. Operationally, it requires discipline around care standardization, reduction of unwarranted variation, and strong partnerships between clinical and operational leaders.
The challenge is that many organizations remain structurally built for volume. Managing that tension requires being intentional about where to invest, how to measure performance, and how to hold leaders accountable. We focus heavily on length of stay, avoidable utilization, throughput, and care coordination — not as cost-cutting exercises, but as patient-centered improvements that also support financial sustainability. When operational excellence and clinical outcomes move together, value-based care becomes a strength rather than a strain.
Christopher Kane. Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of Phoebe Putney Health System (Albany, Ga.): Many health systems investigate the merits of federal, state or payer initiatives under the umbrella of Value-Based Care. The acronym VBC has emerged in our industry due to the frequency of pronouncements from policy analysts and consultants. In contrast, our focus in value-based care is expressed in terms of the specific needs of the communities we serve. Our strategic goals, Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) and community listening sessions inform our investments in access, new clinical programs, and technology. True value-based care is about organizational culture, not a new rules-based shiny object.
Dawn Thompson. Chief Strategy Officer of Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System (Houston):
1. VBC is no longer a side initiative, it is a core strategic driver.
2. Moving from traditional focus (volume growth, service line expansion, fee for service margin optimization) to VBC strategies (managing total cost of care, quality outcomes, patient experience).
3. Hospitals must plan for fewer inpatient days over time.
4. VBC is instrumental in negotiating payer contracts, strenghthens physician alignment, outcomes become more important than size/volume.
5. Financial challenges: Start with upside contracts only; maintain a blended portfolio, clear “stop loss” thresholds.
6. Reduce admission and procedures that hurt traditional margins.
7. Right-size bed capacity and service lines.
8. Convert fixed cost to variable when possible.
9. Redesign compensation with quality metrics, panel management, care coordination incentives.
10. Standardize clinical pathways to reflect new care management strategies.
VBC reshapes strategies from how much care you give to how well and efficiently you manage health.
Doug McGill. Vice President of Quality Strategy and Operations for Emory Healthcare (Atlanta): Value-based care is central to our strategic planning, driving integration of clinical, operational, and financial strategies to promote high-quality, cost-effective care. We address financial and operational challenges by embedding data-driven accountability, standardizing workflows, and investing in system-based initiatives focused on zero-harm and high reliability principles. By aligning resources and leveraging multidisciplinary collaboration, we optimize performance on value-based programs and ranking systems, ensuring our teams are equipped to deliver best care while maintaining financial stewardship. Ultimately, while we believe we have the right to win in these programs, our unwavering focus remains on our mission – providing hope and improving the care of the communities we serve.
David Muns. COO of Artesia (N.M.) General Hospital: There are wide inconsistencies in the level of commitment to value-based work depending on the organization. There seems to be more skepticism surrounding value-based care than I have seen in some time. As with most things, the leaders willingness to fully engage, track metrics, and provide resources is a major driver. Senior leadership will need to provide the aforementioned resources and remove obstacles.
