Healthcare affordability now ranks above inflation and crime as Americans’ top concern, creating an opportunity for healthcare brands to showcase patient-first efforts to reduce costs amid rising scrutiny.

EHR giant Epic is being sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who alleges the company blocks competition and restricts access to patient health data. The lawsuit adds to recent public and private sector signals that call for hospitals and patients to have better access to health data. While Paxton might have political motives outside of the health tech realm the lawsuit’s outcome could open the market to more Big Tech and digital health/AI players to create solutions that strengthen consumers’ and providers’ ability to access and share medical data across entities.

US healthcare workers don’t feel appreciated, and many are considering leaving their current place of employment, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. Some frontline healthcare workers will jump from one hospital or medical clinic to another, but others will leave the industry outright. Provider organizations must proactively invest in developing their employees by offering education and career advancement opportunities, and committing to workplace safety amid rising violence against healthcare workers.

The trend: Consumers pay broadly different prices for the same healthcare procedures across the US, with the highest average negotiated rate more than 9 times the lowest average rate in a recent assessment by Trilliant Health. Our take: Consumers want to be able to compare healthcare costs, but it’s still unclear how forceful the federal government is going to be in mandating true transparency—and if consumers truly grasp the publicly posted prices for medical services. We expect hospitals will continue to push back on any new regulations, while insurers will keep information on negotiated rates behind closed doors, thus perpetuating price disparities and not arming consumers with actionable insights that will lower their healthcare costs.

Consumer trust in the US healthcare system and its key players has eroded. Brands now face patients who distrust traditional guidance—often due to political polarization—and seek answers from unverified sources. Here’s how brands and marketers can win back patient trust and rebuild deteriorating reputations.

The news: The newly passed Trump federal budget slashes healthcare spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. The takeaway: The cascading effect of federal spending cuts to Medicaid and ACA is poised to reshape US healthcare with more uninsured patients, lower payments and higher costs for physicians and healthcare systems, rural hospital closings, and increased costs for insurers. We expect advanced cost-cutting measures and lobbying for concessions as the industry braces for the initial effects next year.

The trend: Over three-quarters of US hospitals now task pharmacists with patient care responsibilities, according to a recently published survey from the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Our take: Struggling retail pharmacies should also entrust pharmacists to play a bigger role in patient care, especially as some drugstores pivot to health-focused store formats.

Doctors take issue with NYU Langone Health’s Super Bowl ad: They’re largely questioning the not-for-profit’s choice to pay $8M+ for the ad. We explore why health systems would be better off advertising in local markets than national TV events.

US hospitals use predictive AI tools, but many use biased data: Most AI models make recommendations based on homogenous data samples, which could actually harm many patients. But more regulatory oversight of healthcare AI isn’t guaranteed to happen in the near term.

Oracle unveils AI-powered EHR system: We think it could help the vendor capture market share from smaller players in the space because convincing Epic’s customers to switch platforms will be a tough sell.

A call for talent in revenue cycle management: We take a look at how companies are hiring for RCM and the role that RCM software adoption will play in addressing the labor shortage.

Healthcare patients are evolving into consumers. This report examines the trends driving healthcare’s consumerization shift and discusses how incumbents can keep folks from going elsewhere by countering disruptors’ technology-centric strategies.

On the back of Medically Home’s latest $110M raise backed by Kaiser Permanente and Mayo Clinic, we explore why permanent home health reimbursement policies could be on the horizon.

Telehealth is here to stay. It’s time for providers, payers, and vendors to give consumers what they want and make telehealth services a competitive advantage—or risk being left behind.

The number of mobile apps for health condition management is rising. This report examines how smartphone apps can help users control diseases and what gaps need to be filled before more consumers, providers, and payers get on board.

The $300 billion primary care market is being disrupted by nontraditional players. This report examines how the primary care landscape has changed, who these disruptors are, and why their business models are shaking up the status quo.