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Annual HFMA 2026 Conference Recap
Last week I traveled to Maryland for the 2026 Annual Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) Conference. Over 1,400 healthcare financial leaders across the healthcare ecosystem attended.
Below are several themes and patterns I noticed across presentations and conversations.
- AFFORDABILITY we have an affordability paradox in U.S. healthcare. After 30+ years of medical discoveries, technological breakthroughs and legislative action, health spans have been flat while affordability continues to decline.
- THE K-SHAPED ECONOMY large, well-resourced health systems can invest in AI and innovation while rural hospitals do nothing. System closures have led to more vulnerable areas and reduced access.
- FROM SILOS TO SYSTEMS until we achieve true interoperability, technology will continue to drive costs rather than generate savings.
- TRUST healthcare suffers from a severe lack of trust between stakeholders. We have to design systems that create trust structurally, similar to zero-trust security protocols.
- STANDARDIZATION the lack of standardization was identified as a greater barrier to sustainability than the complexity of care itself.
- ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS administrative costs sit at 25-30% of total healthcare spending. One leader told the audience: "I’m too expensive and there are too many of me."
- TRANSPARENCY clinical variability makes price comparisons misleading unless the full process is matched up side by side. Process transparency is just as important as price transparency.
- CHANGE MANAGEMENT adopting digital products and driving change is far more difficult than building the technology itself.
- EXISTENTIAL TIPPING POINT 77% of top executives believe the U.S. healthcare delivery model has reached, or will reach, an existential tipping point within the next three years.
- EMPLOYERS ARE THE SILENT MAJORITY there isn’t a mainstream conversation on how care procurement can be modified. Northwell Direct is one example of a health system taking employers seriously.
- PERFECTION IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS a crawl, walk, run approach is more effective than staying stuck in the analysis phase.
- CULTURE MATTERS building a culture where people feel heard, empowered, and valued is a huge driver of workforce retention.
- TRUTH-TELLERS integrate psychological safety so that you have truth-tellers sharing the good, bad, and ugly.
- COST, ACCESS, AND TRUST one in four Americans are opting out of care due to cost. Only 35-36% have great trust in the U.S. healthcare system, with individual providers being trusted more than systems.
- EMMITT SMITH KEYNOTE break down complexity into manageable pieces, your attitude determines your altitude, have humility, be your own advocate, and welcome competition.
To the many old friends and new friends from last week, thank you for making my experience so special! I’ve tagged a lot of you in the comments below.
Great to see C. Ann Jordan, J.D., Jacob Little, Matt Dyer, Rick Hooper, Derek Garrison, Brendan McAuley, Matt Phillips, Nicole (Nikki) S. Nemeth, RN, Scott Ponder, FACHDM, Cole Hawkins, MBA, B.T. Harman, Brett Harman, Nick Stefanizzi, Dennis Jones, MSOL, Turner Norsworthy, Terry Brown, CRCR, Scott E. Foster, MBA, CHFP, Mike Motsay, Heath M. McDaniel, Ruth Landé, Kasandrah (Kas) Garnes, MBA, Mary Beth McMenamin,MBA,CRCE I, CRCR, Taylor St. Eve, Pedram Afshar, MD PhD, Michele Hagerman, Kristen Gallagher, CRCR, Toney Fedullo CRCS-I, Nick Murray, Nicholas McCook, William Hollin, Jake Rahn, Joe Wisniewski, Chris Severn, Shereese Maynard, MS, MBA, Marco Coello, CRCR, Peter Pollio, CRCR, MJ Valeri, Annabelle Seippel - Hunt, CRCR, Nicholas (Nick) Rivera, CPA, FHFMA, CSAF, Michael Gaines, Matthew Robben, Ryan Downs, CPA, CHFP, CRCR, Jake Ray, Kevin Brennan, John Fistner, Gary Serafini, Heather Stanisci, Amanda Skilton, Laura Weaver, MS, CRCR, FABC, Kimberley Raftery, Katie Ciprietti, Leah Klinke, James Jacobi, Payerset
Nice to meet Lawrence Robertson, Nicole Rogas, Christopher Cresswell, Jorge Fernandez, Christopher Eckert, CPA, Naomi Renelus Murphy, DELANA WILLIAMS, CPC, CPC-I, CEDC, Mark Welter, Connor Beer, Gabriel Grant, Ph.D., Larry Joo, William “Bill” Staley, Katie Adams, Dean DiNanno, David Kirshner, Eugene Dinkelis, Christopher Giles, Marc Santoro, Justin Hunsinger, Marc DeLaurentis, Andrew Massoud, Whitney Adair, Rebecca Napier, David Thomas, Nicholas J. Case, CTP, Marcus Whitney, Charlton Park, Alex Geller, Bruce Cattie, Michael George, Michael Goodman, Andy Schiesl, Fakhar Khan MD, ACPA-C, Melanie C., Evan Collins, FACHE, CDFM, John R. Phillips, David Hammer, Rich Toner, John Cunniff MD, PhD, Anna Barnes, Eric Shubin, Robert Novielli, MBA, Weiqing Gu, Sheila Sinclair MBA FHFMA CT-BI, Jennifer Heuer, Stephen Carlson, Chris Coleman, Ryan Principe, Shane Pryce, Joshua McFall, J.C. Bender, MBA, FMVA®, MSPT, Lance Seach, Jason Watson, Liz Barrington Summers, Phillip Chang, Rahul Gajjar MHA, CRCR, Tim Kilpatrick, Benjamin Perez, Jeffrey Costello, Ashraf (Ash) Shehata, David McCullough, Tony Heinz, Kathryn A. Topper, Steve Hand, Misty Davis, Renee Maccannon, Kenneth Miller, MBA, Caroline Znaniec, MBA, MS-HCA, CRIP, CRCR, Jim Kenney, Warren Kloter, CRCR, David Thomas, Patrick McDermott, Shannon Cleburn, CRCR, John Townsend, Kevin W. B., Joel McKiernan, Ryan Peck, MBA, Talha H., Brian McGraw, Jack Ponder