Hospitals: Top 20 Takeaways from 2026 AHA Conference (AI, VBC, Policy)

Research evidence excerpt

Hospitals: Top 20 Takeaways from 2026 AHA Conference (AI, VBC, Policy)

Health Care | Healthcare Facilities & Managed Care

July 14, 2026

Elizabeth Anderson Hospitals: Top 20 Takeaways from 2026 AHA

212-446-5632 Conference (AI, VBC, Policy)

elizabeth.anderson@evercoreisi.com Amir on our team, attended the 2026 American Hospital

Amir Farahani, CFA Association (“AHA”) Leadership Summit in Denver this 646-551-8518

Amir.Farahani@evercoreisi.com week. The conference is a premier gathering of the

Joanna Zhou industry's top health-system executives, policymakers, and

212-446-5659 innovators, discussing how to scale innovation for health

joanna.zhou@evercoreisi.com systems, transform care delivery, and responsibly deploy AI.

Ayush Vyas

646-551-8512 This note summarizes top 20 key takeaways organized by

Ayush.Vyas@evercoreISI.com impact on drivers of hospital P&L, as well as more detailed

findings.

Volume:

Coverage losses are coming as OBBBA phases in. Work

requirements and expiring premium tax credits should raise

the uninsured from next year (29 state AGs already suing),

lifting hospital uncompensated care and margin risk for

exchange- and Medicaid-exposed payers.

Capital is rotating from inpatient toward ambulatory and

retail access points. Hospitals are funding decentralized

access over incremental inpatient capacity, shifting volume

and capex toward outpatient, urgent care, and retail;

ambulatory- and urgent-care-heavy names are best-

positioned, while inpatient-heavy systems face slower

structural growth.

Risant/Geisinger data supports the case that value-

based care can cut utilization without cutting revenue in

capacity-constrained markets. At Geisinger (Risant's

longest relationship), >70% of physicians use KP tools;

CMI-adjusted LOS is down ~15%, ED boarders ~50%, and