The Business of Healthcare Podcast

The episode examines how incentives shape behavior across the U.S. healthcare system. Host Dan Karnuta introduces the idea that businesses and individuals respond to the rewards built into a system, whether or not those rewards produce the best overall results. Guest Steve Horowitz, president and CEO of SRH Advisory LLC, board member of careviso and a member of its audit committee. Horowitz is a health care executive with experience in provider organizations, pharmacy benefit managers and health services. He says the system's complexity makes it easy for one group to optimize its own results while worsening outcomes elsewhere.

They discuss fee-for-service payments, which can reward more services, and value-based arrangements, which can reward lower costs and better outcomes but may also encourage cutting necessary care. Horowitz says newer models such as bundled payments and accountable care organizations can help, but require careful design, monitoring and experience. The conversation ends with why reform is so difficult: health care decisions involve personal values and tradeoffs about cost, access and quality, so even sensible policies can provoke disagreement.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

In this episode, Chris Gay, CEO of Evry Health, joins host Dan Karnuta to discuss how AI is speeding up prior authorization decisions, changing customer service and reshaping jobs across healthcare. Gay explains how the company uses AI to process faxed prior authorization requests and summarize medical records for clinicians. He says this helps return decisions faster and reports that EveryHealth denied only 4% of requests last year, compared with his estimate of 18% to 35% across the industry.

Gay also describes Evry Health's AI voice system for provider outreach and customer service, along with tools for software operations. He expects AI to reshape call center, engineering and healthcare jobs quickly, and says companies need ways to move employees into more demanding work as routine tasks become automated.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

W. Stephen Love, president and CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, joins host Dan Karnuta for a discussion about how North Texas hospitals collaborate to prepare for disasters, supply shortages and other emergencies. Drawing on lessons learned from COVID-19, Hurricane Katrina and previous mass-casualty planning, Love describes how hospitals share equipment, personnel and expertise, expand critical-care capacity and support rural facilities that may have fewer resources.

Love then discusses the 18 months of preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which brought millions of international visitors to North Texas. Hospitals, public-health agencies, emergency responders and local governments planned for extreme heat, infectious diseases, language barriers and large gatherings across the region. The coordination paid off: approximately 2,000 visitors received emergency care, with an estimated 98% of those encounters involving heat-related illnesses.

Read more in D CEO about Stephen Love's career and leadership.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

Partner organizations discussed in this episode:

North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council

Texas Division of Emergency Management

In this episode, Anita Allemand, PharmaD, chief growth officer at Elevance Health, joins host Dan Karnuta to discuss how artificial intelligence is being used to simplify healthcare experiences for patients, providers and insurers alike. She outlines four key areas where AI is reshaping the industry: care navigation, provider support, personalized patient experiences and proactive identification of care gaps.

The conversation also explores value-based care, claims processing, interoperability challenges, workforce training and the importance of balancing technology with human-centered healthcare delivery as the industry moves toward more proactive and personalized care models.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

In this episode, guest Antonio Ciaccia, president of consulting firm 3 Axis Advisors and founder/CEO of non-profit 46brooklyn Research, joins host Dan Karnuta for a discussion about U.S. drug pricing. The model is opaque because it runs on inflated list prices and hidden discounts created by government policy and industry incentives. Instead of competing on price, drug companies raise prices and offer rebates through intermediaries like pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who control which drugs are covered. This system weakens normal market forces and concentrates power in the middle of the supply chain.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

In this episode, Will Busch, III, president of FMG Leading, joins host Dan Karnuta for a discussion about hybrid healthcare. They talk about how the pandemic accelerated adoption of hybrid models like telehealth, remote monitoring and AI-enabled workflows. Other topics of dicussion include how:

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-(--header-height)" dir="auto" data-turn-id="eb1053d6-486c-4a9d-bd4f-4c609fcdb21c" data-testid="conversation-turn-39" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="user"> *]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-69c6d4aa-86c0-8333-8b66-55b54099c6bd-14" data-testid= "conversation-turn-40" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant">

• Hybrid healthcare blends human care with technology to improve access, cost and outcomes
• AI and automation help scale clinicians by reducing administrative burden
• Success depends on strategy, workflow alignment and cultural buy-in, not just technology
• How hybrid models are key to addressing workforce strain, aging populations and rising healthcare costs

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

In this episode, host Dan Karnuta welcomes Kevin Kumler, president and general manager of Levanto, to discuss how the Baylor Scott & White Health-backed platform is redefining employer-sponsored wellness. Kumler explains that Levanto brings multiple health solutions — such as weight management, musculoskeletal care, mental health support and nurse triage — into one integrated app, reducing fragmentation and personalizing care across conditions and life stages. The goal is to extend trusted health system expertise beyond hospital walls and help employees stay healthy instead of waiting until issues become acute.

The conversation highlights Levanto's value to employers: lowering unnecessary costs, improving productivity and enhancing benefits offerings through a simple per-member-per-month model that works alongside existing insurance plans. Kumler also outlines how AI supports both operational efficiency and patient-facing tools, while emphasizing a blended "AI plus human" approach to care. Overall, the episode positions integrated, employer-focused wellness as a practical step toward a more sustainable healthcare system.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

In this episode, Dr. John R. Mehall returns to the show for a discussion with host Dan Karnuta about the evolving economics of physician practice and how different organizational models — hospital employment, independent groups and private equity partnerships — shape autonomy, productivity and long-term sustainability. Drawing on his experience as a former cardiac surgeon and now healthcare executive and entrepreneur, Mehall explains why hospitals increasingly struggle to sustain physician employment, how subsidy-driven compensation models can create internal competition, and what it really takes for physicians to successfully transition back to independence through ancillaries, capital investment and operational support.

Kaiser is director of the MS/MBA in Healthcare Leadership and Management for Professionals at UT Dallas' Naveen Jindal School of Management.

Previous episodes with Dr. John Mehall:

Episode 118: Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians

Episode 43: Filling Medical Staffing Gaps

This episode flips the script as producer Jimmie Markham interviews host Dan Karnuta about the year's biggest healthcare themes. They revisit discussions form previous episodes on AI governance, operational adoption, workforce resistance, healthcare education pipelines, insurance pitfalls, nursing workflow redesign and physician well-being. Karnuta emphasizes that rapid technological change demands strong communication, thoughtful change management and a workforce prepared to partner with AI.

They also explore deeper systemic issues, including healthcare's "klugeocracy" — a system built on decades of quick fixes. Despite the complexity and inefficiency this creates, Karnuta ends on a hopeful note: the industry is talking openly about its challenges, experimenting with new solutions and developing leaders committed to improving the system.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.

In this episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast, host Dan Karnuta welcomes Don Taylor, director of the Alliance for Physician Leadership at The University of Texas at Dallas' Naveen Jindal School of Management, for a discussion about Taylor's new book, Healing. They discuss how the U.S. healthcare system fails to support physicians' well-being, both mentally and spiritually. Taylor describes how doctors struggle with the stress, isolation and burnout of leadership expectations although they do not get trained in that aspect of their careers.

They also discuss how the U.S. healthcare system prioritizes profit over true health, creating a structure where sickness — not wellness — drives revenue, leaving doctors feeling voiceless and disconnected from their calling.

Karnuta is an associate professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management's Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area as well as director of its Professional Program in Healthcare Management.