The Gary Bisbee Show

Meet the Guests:

This episode features three leaders previously interviewed on The Gary Bisbee Show. Listeners will hear from: Pete McCanna, CEO, Baylor Scott & White Health; Steve Glass, President and CEO, Medical Mutual, and Richard Pollack, President and CEO, American Hospital Association. 

Key Insights:

Our guests offer commentary on how new, for-profit entrants are changing the health economy.

What Do Consumers Demand? Legacy systems must evaluate the prospect of building partnerships with the new large-cap entrants to provide customers with what they demand.

Capital and Profit. New entrants are finding market inefficiencies, which brings innovation. The danger is disintermediation and fracturing of the care continuum. 

Predatory Practice. Mr. Pollack sees promise in the potential for partnering, but he warns that for-profit models neglect poor and under-insured populations.

Relevant Links:

View Pete McCanna’s full episode

View Steve Glass’s full episode

View Richard Pollack’s full episode

Meet Scott Sowle

Scott Sowle launched Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services in 2013. Muir Wood is the culmination of his personal and professional experiences and has become recognized nationally as a gold standard in adolescent behavioral health care. 

Key Insights:

Scott Sowle is an expert in creating treatment programs that emphasize kindness and compassion.

Urgent Work. Professionals are tracking higher use of cannabis, alcoholism and stimulants—and are especially concerned with fentanyl use among teens. 

Gender-separate Treatment? The Muir Wood facilities separate residents by gender, which allows great trust to emerge, facilitating vulnerable sharing throughout recovery. 

Twin Keys. The two biggest components of successful treament are length of stay, and parental involvement. 

Relevant Links: 

Read more about Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services

Read about Scott Sowle

Meet Paul Generale:

Paul Generale is a healthcare executive bringing nearly two decades of experience in the fields of finance and administration to his role as a senior executive with CHRISTUS Health.

Key Insights:

Mr. Generale believes that effective healthcare leaders must be able to adapt and pivot when new strategies are needed.

What Recent Trends are Here to Stay? Innovation in digital, the care continuum, and Medicare and other regulator payers moving things to outpatient—these are here to stay.

Integrated Health Plan. Instead of being fee-for-service, offering an in-house health plan allows healthcare systems to attack some of the social determinants.

Continue Learning. Paul remarks, “Take some risk, learn. Try to evolve. There's not a path. If you find that opportunity, take it.”

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Citi.

Relevant Links:

Learn more about Paul Generale

Read about CHRISTUS Health

Meet Richard Edelman

Richard Edelman is the CEO of Edelman, a global communications firm, and Chairman of Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, the firm’s holding company. Now in his 26th year as CEO, Richard is one of the longest tenured agency leaders in the marketing services industry.
 

Key Insights:

Richard Edelman oversees international polling on personal and institutional trust. 

Where does Political Dialog Occur? The most believable place to have a quality conversation on politics is at work. It's not in your neighborhood anymore. It's in the workplace, because people now have transferred so much of their psychic energy to work.

How to Address Misinformation? There is a continued need to supplement information on social. I think companies have to participate in social put good facts in there. If they have quality information, sharing through newsletters, I just don't think media can do it alone

How to be Trustworthy? It used to be that 75% of trust score was related to ability. Now that's taken for granted almost the other 75 has to do with who you are. Do you have a mission?

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Edwards Lifesciences.

Relevant Links:

Read more about Richard’s career

Read about Richard’s company, Edelman

Meet Richard Pollack

Rick Pollack is president and CEO of the American Hospital Association (AHA), the nation’s largest hospital and health care system membership organization with nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health care systems, networks, and other providers of care. Serving as the AHA’s top leader since 2015, Rick is widely recognized for his strong, effective advocacy and leadership on behalf of our nation’s hospitals, the patients and communities they serve, and the health care professionals those organizations support. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rick built a coalition including the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, state and regional hospital associations, and other leading health organizations to support efforts in following public health guidelines, promoting vaccination, with a focus on vulnerable communities, and successfully obtaining the financial resources and regulatory flexibility to keep our hospitals open to care for their patients and communities during the most challenging public health crisis of our time.

Key Insights:

Mr. Pollack is an experienced leader and expert in health policy, health financing, and advocacy. 

Unifying Issues. In spite of diversity of concerns among members, certain issues draw all together: financial challenges, workforce challenges, cybersecurity, etc. 

Bipartisan Advocacy. The AHA has been intentional about working across the political divide, developing close relationships with both Trump and Biden administrations. 

Consolidation Advantage. The shift to value based care involves managing risk, and larger organizations can typically handle more risk: consolidation often makes sense.

Relevant Links:

Read more about Mr. Pollack

Read about the American Hospital Association

Meet Elizabeth Fowler:

Dr. Elizabeth Fowler is Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at CMS. Dr. Fowler previously served as Executive Vice President of programs at The Commonwealth Fund and Vice President for Global Health Policy at Johnson & Johnson. Before that, she was special assistant to President Obama on health care and economic policy at the National Economic Council. From 2008 to 2010, she was Chief Health Counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chair, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), where she played a critical role developing the Senate version of the Affordable Care Act. She also played a key role drafting the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA). Dr. Fowler has over 25 years of experience in health policy and health services research. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a law degree (J.D.) from the University of Minnesota. She is admitted to the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Fowler is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022.

Key Insights:

Dr. Fowler is committed to the goal of reducing healthcare spending on a net basis into the future.

Efficiency. Part of the ACA passed in 2010, the CMS Innovation Center aims to reduce barriers to care delivery, making healthcare more affordable and efficient. 

Long Term Plans. Dr. Fowler suggests that changing our healthcare system for the better is a project of immense scope. Prepare to measure progress on a scale of decades. 

Realism and Risk. Value-based care remains the goal, but Dr. Fowler understands that many organizations still face challenges that prevent them from adopting value models.

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Edwards Lifesciences.

Relevant Links:

Follow Dr. Fowler on Twitter

Learn about the CMS Innovation Center

Meet Steve Glass:

Steve Glass is CEO of Medical Mutual and a member of the company’s board of directors. An experienced healthcare executive, Steve joined the Cleveland Clinic in 2002 and was named the organization’s CFO in 2005. In that role, he was responsible for the overall financial operations of the Cleveland Clinic and its subsidiaries worldwide. Mr. Glass earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Towson University in Maryland and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is on the board of directors for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, as well as a member of the American Institute of Certified Accountants, Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Key Insights:

Steve Glass believes that providers and payers can work together to minimize friction in healthcare.

The CEO Role. Stakeholders inside and outside of the company look to the CEO to be the voice of the organization, and establishing trust is key. 

Managing Risk. Insurers understand the benefit of moving to value-based care, but it’s important to monitor and manage financial risk as health systems move in that direction.

A Capitalist Society. Steve remarks, “If somebody’s coming into your market, it’s because they see an opportunity.” Providers and Payers need to innovate to meet the challenge.

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Citi.

Relevant Links:

Read more about Steve Glass

Read about Medical Mutual 

Meet Dr. Andy Anderson

Dr. Andy Anderson is Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer for RWJBarnabas Health. He oversees the clinical activities of one of the largest academic health systems in the nation. Dr. Anderson guides medical professionals through new models of health care delivery and reimbursement, with a focus on transformative health care and population health to achieve the best possible outcomes in quality, safety, and service. He brings broad experience in health system leadership and physician practice management to his role, having formerly been the CEO of the combined Medical Group at RWJBarnabas-Rutgers, and the Chief Medical Officer at Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin. Dr. Anderson continues to see patients and teach in addition to his leadership responsibilities. An internist by training, Dr. Anderson is a graduate of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and medical degree. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree at Marquette University.

Key Insights:

Dr. Anderson has years of experience practicing medicine and is an expert in healthcare leadership:

Outcomes-Driven. Dr. Anderson believes that using data to set and reach to achieve clear outcomes can inspire better care, and bring joy to healthcare employees.

Integrated Care. The days of the shingled private practice may be drawing to a close: larger systems, offering integrated care, are a more effective place of employment for physicians.

Master the Craft. Dr. Anderson encourages aspiring healthcare leaders to master their craft first—read voraciously, and practice consistently. Knowledge makes a leader effective.

Relevant Links:

Read more about Dr. Anderson

Read about RWJBarnabas Health

Meet Dr. Steve Hester:

Dr. Steven T. Hester is Senior Vice President, System Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer, Norton Healthcare. He joined Norton in 2004 as chief medical information officer, and has served in a number of medical staff and leadership positions in his time since. Prior to joining Norton Healthcare, Dr. Hester practiced emergency medicine full time, working for Kentuckiana Emergency Physicians to improve quality and volume. Dr. Hester hold’s a bachelor’s and medical degree from the University of Louisville and an MBA from Bellarmine University. He serves on multiple national committees and boards focused on improving the delivery of health care for patients. He also serves on the board of directors of the Christian Academy School System and Leadership Louisville.

Key Insights:

Steve Hester discusses his work and experience as a physician-leader.

Parallel Priorities. In his role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hester believes quality care arises when leaders do the right thing for both patients and employees.

Optimizing Workflow. It’s crucial to maximize the time physicians spend with patients: this is the goal of division of labor in a health system. 

New Work. The pandemic reset the way people think of employment, and many are re-considering what a successful work life looks like. 

Relevant Links:

Read more about Norton Healthcare

Read more about Dr. Hester

Meet Peter McCanna:

Peter McCanna is chief executive officer (CEO) at Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not- for-profit health system in Texas. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care, as well as an array of virtual and in-home services. Previously, McCanna served as Baylor Scott & White’s president. Now, in his role as CEO, McCanna is leading the health system’s transformation to deliver experiences that go beyond customers’ traditional expectations of healthcare. 

Key Insights:

Peter McCanna believes it is not enough to preserve legacy systems; healthcare must evolve:

Customer Centered. The intersection of consumerism and new technological tools demand a new destination for healthcare where the customer must be at the center.

Addressing Injustice. McCanna points out that there are big gaps in care for different populations—he describes these gaps as a public health problem. 

Diverse Thinking. According to McCanna, the executive of the future must be comfortable with diverse thinking, and must have a diverse skill set to implement change. 

This episode was made possible by our partnership with Citi.

Relevant Links:

Get to know Pete McCanna

Read more about Baylor Scott & White Health