Health care leaders are navigating one of the most volatile policy environments in decades. The next major reform fight hasn’t arrived yet — but in its place, a steady wave of rulemaking, regulatory shifts, and enforcement actions is driving real change. Policies are evolving faster, reversing more often, and creating a level of uncertainty that makes even the most seasoned strategists question what to act on, what to wait out, and what to ignore.

This moment of policy whiplash isn’t theoretical — it’s reshaping care delivery models, workforce strategy, and long term investment decisions across the industry.

In this live episode, recorded at Advisory Board’s Washington, D.C. Summit on May 4, 2026, host Rae Woods sits down with Julie Rovner — chief Washington correspondent at KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast — to make sense of this “in between” moment of health policy.

Drawing on four decades of reporting across multiple administrations and reform cycles, Julie helps leaders separate meaningful signals from noise, understand where real policy power sits today, and anticipate what could define the next era of health reform.

We’re here to help:

• Playlist | Radio Advisory Health Policy playlist
• Expert Insight | How policy changes will impact your bottom line
• Tool | Policy Scenario Impact Calculator
• Want to see a live recording of Radio Advisory? Register for an Advisory Board summit and get the insights your organization needs to navigate uncertainty and build lasting resilience.
• What the Health? From KFF Health News Archives - KFF Health News

4 ways health systems are reducing EVS costs while improving performance

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

After a decidedly difficult few years in the world of nursing, things have seemingly gotten better — at least, on paper. And that’s reflective of a lot of hard work on the part of nursing leaders. But when we look at how long nurses plan to stay in the profession, we see a different story taking shape.

In this episode of Radio Advisory, host Abby Burns is joined by Advisory Board nursing expert Ali Knight and Optum expert Sherilynn Quist. Together, they unpack what today’s workforce data is really telling us and what it misses, the root causes driving nurses’ discontent, and why strengthening the nursing workforce can’t be left to nurse leaders alone.

We’re here to help:

• Episode | 274: The nurse engagement tactic leaders may be missing
• Expert Insight | Labor costs continue to go up. What does it mean for health systems?
• Expert Insight | Engage frontline staff to increase margin
• Webinar | 5 key trends shaping the nursing workforce today
• Webinar | Inform your workforce decisions with Advisory Board's benchmarks
• Learn more | Optum Advisory: Sustainable Growth and Margin Consulting

5 strategies to close gaps in bladder cancer care

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Across the industry, leaders are talking about a “battle of the bots”—with payers and providers racing to deploy AI across the revenue cycle. But that narrative may be more hype than reality.

In this episode, Rae Woods is joined by Advisory Board experts Isis Monteiro and Elysia Culver to separate fact from fiction. They break down where AI is actually delivering value today—and why it’s showing up as efficiency gains and cost avoidance, not revenue growth.

And they make the case for a different approach: stop chasing AI for its own sake, and start focusing on margin protection, operational discipline, and the problems that actually need solving.

We’re here to help:

• Report | Revenue cycle claims denial benchmarks
• Report | Addressing plan-provider friction: 3 insights from Optum’s Payer-Provider Abrasion survey
• Case Study | 3 steps to prevent prior authorization denials
• Learn | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook playlist
• Playlist | Radio Advisory Tech and AI playlist

Learn about Advisory Board's 2026 summits

A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.