Healthcare Isn’t Running Out of Money. It’s Running Out of Leverage.
These reflections are drawn from conversations at The Lion Forum, hosted by K Ventures at the historic Kennedy Compound in Cape Cod, and represent my own synthesis of the themes discussed by participants. *
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend The Lion Forum at the Kennedy Compound, right in my own backyard.
The setting was extraordinary. The conversations were even more so.
Over several days, a highly curated group of healthcare leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, clinicians, policymakers, and operators gathered to discuss what many of us believe is one of the defining challenges of our time: how do we build a healthcare system that is more accessible, more sustainable, and more effective in a world where demand is increasing faster than our ability to meet it?
Like many modern conferences, AI was everywhere, and rightfully so.
Unlike many conferences, however, the conversations felt deeply and intentionally grounded in reality.
Moving from Hype to Practical Reality
There was remarkably little discussion about futuristic scenarios or speculative technologies. Instead, the focus was on practical applications already being deployed across health systems, employers, payers, and emerging healthcare companies. The conversation wasn’t whether AI will matter. That debate feels largely settled. The discussion was focused on where AI can create meaningful value, where it can reduce friction, and where it can help address problems that have resisted decades of reform.
When asked by an early-stage AI founder how they can better partner with health systems, the Chief Clinical Officer of Mount Sinai Health System, David Reich, advised a sharp focus on clear and practical problem solving.
Dr. Reich also referred to the critical nature of communications, both internal and external, to ensure system-wide uptake and optimized use of new technologies – whether ambient scribing, AI imaging, or anything in between. I personally loved hearing this from a Chief Clinical Officer of such renown. Without integrated communications to unpack the need and detail the long-term benefits, users throughout the continuum of care can feel as though these new technologies are simply band-aids on a larger problem. But with intentionality comes clarity and a deeper understanding of the ‘why’ behind systems change that may at first feel disruptive or disjointed.
Healthcare is Running out of Leverage
What struck me most was that nearly every conversation eventually returned to the same underlying issue: healthcare is running out of leverage.
The industry has spent decades trying to solve its biggest challenges by adding people, adding process, and adding complexity. Yet costs continue to rise, workforce shortages continue to grow, access remains uneven, and, by many measures, healthcare outcomes are not improving.
At some point, the conversation needs to shift from incremental improvement to structural change.
That was the backdrop for many of the discussions throughout the week.
The Scale of Inefficiency – The Opportunity
One of the more provocative observations came from Galym Imanbayev of Lightspeed Venture Partners, who referenced estimates suggesting that healthcare waste and pure efficiency loss may represent $3-4 trillion.
Whether one agrees with the exact figure or not, the broader point is difficult to dispute. Every participant in healthcare can point to examples of duplicated work, disconnected systems, administrative burden, and processes that consume enormous resources without creating proportional value for those doing the work or the patients they care for.
Galym made another observation that stayed with me:
“As investors, we’re here to fund the creative destruction of industries.”
Healthcare leaders don’t often like hearing that phrase.
But meaningful transformation inevitably disrupts existing business models. Some organizations have benefited from inefficiency, fragmentation, and complexity. If AI successfully removes those frictions, there will be consequences for companies that depend on them.
The more interesting question is whether healthcare can afford not to pursue those efficiencies.
The End of Data Siloes as a Moat & The New Question Facing Healthcare Innovators
That idea surfaced repeatedly throughout the forum.
James Hairston, Global Head of Innovation Policy at OpenAI, framed it even more directly:
“The losers of the AI revolution in healthcare will be the software providers and entities that have profited or benefited from siloed data.”
Historically, healthcare has rewarded control of information. Data was accumulated, protected, and often monetized. Increasingly, however, intelligence is emerging not from isolated datasets but from connected ecosystems. The value is shifting from owning information to enabling its movement and interpretation.
James also captured a challenge that many healthcare founders are quietly grappling with today. This challenge has led investors to ask the simple question:
“Why can’t OpenAI or Anthropic just build this?”
A few years ago, a novel idea could be a moat. Today, the existence of powerful foundation models has changed the equation.
As James put it:
“If you’re a surfer and can stay on top of the wave, technologies like Claude and OpenAI are accelerators and elevators.”
It’s one of the most concise descriptions I’ve heard of the current innovation environment.
Foundation models make innovation faster and more accessible. At the same time, they make technology itself less defensible. The advantage increasingly comes from execution, workflow integration, trust, proprietary insights, regulatory understanding, and the ability to solve real-world problems at scale.
Solving Real Problems – Not Just Building AI
One of the clearest themes to emerge throughout the week was that the next generation of healthcare AI winners won’t be defined by access to better foundation models. They will be defined by their ability to solve meaningful, persistent problems across the healthcare ecosystem.
Companies in attendance, such as Abridge, Camber, Cognixion, Korro AI, and Lotus AI each illustrate that point in different ways.
Abridge has become one of the industry’s strongest examples of AI delivering immediate, measurable value. By reducing documentation burden through ambient clinical documentation, it is helping clinicians spend less time on administrative work and more time with patients—a practical solution to one of healthcare’s most pervasive sources of burnout.
Camber is applying AI to revenue cycle management, helping providers navigate reimbursement complexity and improve financial performance in an environment where every dollar—and every margin point—matters.
Cognixion is exploring how AI-powered neurotechnology can create new ways for patients with severe speech and motor impairments to communicate, demonstrating that AI’s impact extends well beyond administrative efficiency and into patient empowerment.
Koro is reimagining pediatric therapy by combining AI, computer vision, and immersive digital experiences to extend care beyond the clinic. By equipping occupational therapists with real-time insights and enabling children to continue personalized, engaging therapy at home, Korro has the potential to improve access, accelerate early intervention, and help clinicians scale their impact at a time when demand for pediatric therapy continues to outpace capacity. As a storyteller and someone who’s actually done a lot of work with video games in healthcare, I found this one particularly compelling.
Perhaps one of the most ambitious visions came from Lotus AI. The company is reimagining access to primary care by combining AI with virtual care to dramatically lower both the cost and friction of seeing a physician. If CEO KJ Dhaliwal and his team can deliver on the promise of near-instant access to a primary care for FREE, at scale, it has the potential to fundamentally reshape how millions of Americans access routine care. Imagine this!
Different companies. Different business models. Different problems to solve.
Yet they all share a common objective: using AI not simply to automate existing workflows, but to remove friction from a healthcare system that has become increasingly difficult to navigate—for clinicians, providers, and patients alike.
Ultimately, the most compelling AI companies won’t win because they built the smartest model. They’ll win because they make healthcare work better.
Reframing AI Through the Lens of Workforce Stability
So, what do these changes mean inside large organizations?
Dr. Reich from Mount Sinai noted that replacing a single nurse who leaves the workforce, for any reason, costs the system approximately $100,000. When we look at the rate of departures among this group, the numbers start to look staggering, and this doesn’t even account for the potential impacts to patient care and outcomes.
That statistic brings the role of AI in workforce stability into clear focus for me. The question is no longer whether technology can improve productivity.
The question is whether technology can help preserve a workforce that is increasingly strained and staring down a cliff with consequences that could be catastrophic to our health system and the millions of people that depend on it.
From Artificial to Augmented Intelligence
For years, healthcare technology conversations focused heavily on efficiency and cost savings. Increasingly, the more compelling argument may be about the augmentation of human capital and intelligence in healthcare.
Can AI reduce burnout?
Can it eliminate administrative tasks that drive talented clinicians away from practice?
Can it help healthcare professionals spend more time with patients and less time with screens?
Those questions feel far more important than debates about automation.
Mount Sinai’s work with organizations such as Clarium and Canary Speech reflect a broader trend toward technologies that augment clinicians rather than attempt to replace them.
In fact, one of the most important themes throughout the week was that the best healthcare AI doesn’t remove humans from the system. It empowers them to operate at the top of their license or capabilities.
The Expanded Role of Caregivers
One of the most thought-provoking conversations came from Kris Walker of Unum Group, who highlighted the growing pressures facing what has become known as the “sandwich generation.”
Today, three out of four adults identify as simultaneously caring for children and aging parents. I am one of them and can attest to the very real challenges this presents.
Healthcare leaders often discuss workforce shortages, demographic shifts, caregiving challenges, and economic productivity as separate issues. However, to the millions of us living in this generational squeeze, they are woven together in such a way that addressing any one component likely leaves more issues unresolved.
Individual families are absorbing responsibilities once carried by whole communities. And while some employers are absorbing responsibilities once supported by public programs, others only exacerbate the demands on government programs by purposefully paying their staff less than a living wage. Caregiving itself is becoming a major economic and social force.
Kris challenged attendees to think beyond traditional care coordination models, many of which remain reactive and episodic, and whose successes are typically only available to those in the community who already have ample resources.
Instead, she described a future in which AI operates continuously in the background—helping identify risks, coordinate resources, anticipate needs, and support caregivers before crises emerge.
One of the more memorable analogies of the week for me came from this talk:
Why can’t healthcare work more like a 401(k)?
Most people do not actively manage their retirement portfolios every day. Intelligent systems operate behind the scenes, adjusting, monitoring, and helping keep individuals on track.
Healthcare remains largely the opposite.
We wait for problems, then react. At this point, it is often too late or too expensive.
The possibility that AI could help create a more proactive, preventative, and personalized model of care may ultimately be more transformative than any administrative efficiency gain.
Healthcare and the American Dream – Opportunity AND Stability
Kris also raised an important point that deserves more attention as AI adoption accelerates.
If AI drives workforce displacement in some sectors, upskilling and reskilling become essential. The future isn’t simply about automation. It’s about helping people adapt alongside it.
Emily Aaronson, Chief Medical Officer of Walmart, spoke about the changing nature of the American Dream.
Historically, opportunity sat at the center of that vision.
Increasingly, however, stability has become just as important, if not more so.
- Can one diagnosis wipe out a family’s savings?
- Can one unexpected health event derail years of progress?
- Can people afford to seek care when they need it?
Those questions are becoming more urgent as growing numbers of Americans delay or defer care because of cost.
Aaronson shared a story of two pharmacy patients, a husband and wife, who prior to Walmart’s $4 prescription initiative, were forced to alternate weeks taking their insulin. Once the two were able to afford their own prescribed medication, their physical and mental health were transformed. One very powerful story of how affordability and access can literally change someone’s life and their impact on their families and society.
Viewed through that lens, healthcare innovation takes on a different meaning. The goal is not simply to build better technology. The goal is to create greater stability for individuals and families.
What This Means for Healthcare Communications
As I reflected on the week, I found myself thinking about what these conversations mean for those of us working at the intersection of healthcare, innovation, and communications.
For years, healthcare communications around AI and innovation have largely focused on the technology itself. Models. Algorithms. Automation. Product announcements. All the bits and bytes.
The conversations in Hyannis suggested a different or evolved framing.
Human Impact is the Headline
- Reducing clinician burnout.
- Helping preserve the healthcare workforce.
- Supporting caregivers.
- Improving access.
- Reducing administrative burden.
- Making healthcare more preventative rather than reactive.
- Creating greater health and financial stability for individuals and families.
Healthcare communicators increasingly have a responsibility to bridge the gap between technical capability and human impact.
Building Trust in the AI Era
We will be asked to explain not only what these technologies do, but why they matter, where they create value, how trust is earned, and how organizations can adopt and implement them responsibly.
Perhaps most importantly, we will help shape public understanding of a future where AI is no longer viewed as an experimental technology but as core infrastructure for healthcare delivery. The organizations that communicate this transition most effectively won’t be the ones that talk the most about AI. They’ll be the ones that demonstrate real-world impact at the human level.
The Bigger Picture
That’s ultimately what made the discussions at The Lion Forum so compelling.
Beneath the conversations about venture capital, technology, policy, and innovation was a deeper recognition that healthcare’s challenges are fundamentally human.
Technology may be one of the most powerful tools available to address them. But technology itself is not the destination. The destination is a healthcare system that is more accessible, more affordable, more proactive, and more supportive of patients and the people who care for them.
The most important question is whether we can use this moment to transform healthcare itself – through AI and technology, and a willingness to collaborate and break free from legacy models or approaches across our health system and society.
It was a truly inspiring event that brought together brilliant minds from across the industry and fostered conversations that are exciting but hard. At the end of it all, I feel optimistic about the state of the American Dream and how healthcare will evolve to support it.
