Transforming Healthcare Services

The United States spent $5.3 trillion on healthcare in 2024. At 18% of GDP, it is the largest industry in the country. Healthcare is funded, delivered and consumed through a complex system of public and private companies, tax-exempt organizations, the government and individuals. Business models and unit economics vary widely across dozens of healthcare sectors. This course provides an advanced, critical analysis of the business and investment opportunities supporting the delivery and payment of healthcare services in the United States. It will focus on the actions that organizations are taking to grow, innovate and deploy capital, all while navigating a complex regulatory and policy environment. The course will include case studies of both successes and failures. It will help students develop a pragmatic lens to assessing the kinds of opportunities and risks that they will face as a future manager, executive or investor. The course will begin by defining the healthcare business archetypes: what they do and how they make money. We will then review major sectors, including hospital systems, alternate site and post-acute providers, health plans, value-based care, distributors, pharmacy and healthcare technology. We will explore how the sectors interact, and discuss opportunities for competition, friction, collaboration, integration and consolidation. After establishing the foundation of unit economics, the basis of competition and current business models, each class will explore opportunities for future strategic moves to support innovation and growth. We will supplement the reading and case work with interactive guest lectures by senior healthcare leaders. This year we will have a public company CEO, a former CMS administrator, a leading healthcare investment banker and a prominent physician leader. The course will be useful for students interested in careers in healthcare management and operations, health plans, HCIT, digital health, healthcare consulting & banking, private equity, venture capital, investment management, health policy and entrepreneurship. It is also relevant for students interested in careers in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics given the importance of the healthcare delivery system as customers, payors and distribution channels to those companies; we will also cover derivative services opportunities to support those sectors.