Jodi Hubler

For small business buyers, how important is industry experience? I discussed this topic with Lisa Piercey—physician-turned-operator, former Tennessee Commissioner of Health, and now a healthcare acquirer. The key takeaway: It can be the difference between generating alpha and facing unpleasant surprises post-close. Below are some of the other topics we discussed: 1️⃣ Credibility wins deals. Not just with employees and customers—with sellers. 2️⃣ Beware "unknown unknowns." Buying outside your domain? Mitigate with true subject-matter experts. 3️⃣ Use a "tight, loose, tight" thesis framework. Define the buy box clearly, stay open minded in the middle, then apply a binary filter: in the buy box or not. 4️⃣ When deals wobble, get creative. One of Lisa's best examples: a contract CEO + call option structure to bridge a diligence gap and flatten the post-close learning curve. Lisa also wrote Natural Born Entrepreneurs for mid-career professionals considering ETA, packed with templates, checklists, and an honest look at the tradeoffs vs. a W-2 path. If you're underwriting operators, or searching yourself, this one's worth a listen. Watch here: https://lnkd.in/dadEJ7WZ Listen here: https://lnkd.in/dm2sAG9v

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FORCING CHANGE IN SITE OF CARE McKinsey & Company's recent paper on the forces pressuring healthcare, including the possibility of margin compression of up to 13 percentage points for health systems, does a good job of putting numbers around what most operators already feel. Two of the biggest drivers they mention are policy shifts in reimbursement and rising utilization driven by an aging population. The cohort of 70+ year old Americans will grow the fastest over the next 5 years, and it is well established that older patients have more complex needs, more chronic disease, and more touchpoints within the healthcare system. Layer that on top of continued clinical workforce shortages, and the supply-demand gap widens further. From my perspective, optimizing for site of care is the most important lever we have to address this challenge. We can’t quickly reduce how much care older patients need, but we can change where and how services are delivered. Supporting aging patients in lower-cost settings like the home, ambulatory sites, and virtual environments is no longer just a preference or convenience, it’s a necessity. This is where the conversation around site-neutral payments becomes so relevant. CMS is moving quickly in this direction, and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) are squarely in the crosshairs. The shift will undoubtedly clamp down further on hospital margins, but it shouldn’t be surprising. We’ve been talking about the demise of HOPD reimbursement for years, and the health systems that will fare best are the ones who are working towards aligning their approach with where patients can be treated safely, efficiently, and at lower cost, rather than relying on legacy reimbursement structures to fill the gap. And just like it doesn’t make sense to try to replicate a hospital or nursing home environment in a patient’s home, we also shouldn’t try to carry the same clinical staffing model into every care setting. Yes, there are non-negotiables when it comes to patient safety and clinical expertise, but there’s also a meaningful opportunity to rethink how teams are built. That means clinicians at every level working at the top of their licenses, thoughtfully involving family members and community resources, and using technology to surround these sites of care with non-clinical operational support. From my health system days, I understand why rising costs, margin pressure, and site-neutral payments feel like threats. While painful, I’m hopeful they can also serve as a positive forcing function, pushing us toward care models that are better aligned with our aging population and the realities of today’s workforce.

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HealthEdge recently released its fifth annual Healthcare Consumer Report, unveiling key insights into consumer sentiment about their health insurance plans. This research was conducted through a survey of more than 4,500 health plan members in the U.S. in May 2025. This year’s findings highlight the growing importance of affordability, transparency, member engagement, and the role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping consumer expectations. The research sends a clear message: health plans that act as true partners in care, not just processors of claims, are rewarded with higher trust, stronger satisfaction, and greater member loyalty. Consumers are no longer content with transactional interactions. They expect digital ease, personalized support, and meaningful engagement throughout their health journey. Health plans must evolve their operating models to meet these expectations and drive better outcomes at scale. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e7Fh2a_B

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Interesting conversation this morning with Nashville Business Journal on the #HealthCareoftheFuture with Derek Dedeker Fahad Tahir Lee Ann Liska James E.K. Hildreth Julie Honey, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, FNP-C. Major concern: ✂️ Federal cuts are being done with a machete instead of a scalpel and will most impact: 🩺 current patient care and widen the care gap of our most vulnerable 🐌 Slow the future of our innovation in developing breakthroughs in procedures and treatments. Opportunity: 📊 30% of all data world wide is created from healthcare… With AI and technology advancements happening today we are on the precipous of healthcare transformation that will shape the future of care. #healthcare #healthcareinnovation

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HBF Health, a not-for-profit #health insurance provider, has launched a A$25m ($17.7m) corporate venture fund to invest in health tech #startups. The #CVC fund will invest in early and growth-stage companies, with Sanjeev Gupta as the operational head.

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The healthcare workforce is one of four themes we are betting on at Terrarium, where we think technology and AI will catalyze massive changes to the status quo, driving outsized impact on the industry as a whole. We published a white paper today on why building for the future of the healthcare workforce is prime ground for startups, and where we think returns are going to concentrate: https://lnkd.in/e6hsR2VA. Why are we betting on workforce solutions? Simply put, the opportunity is massive. There are not enough healthcare workers across all licensed roles to meet demand, a shortage crisis that will only get worse if nothing is done. Meanwhile, the cost of labor post-Covid--driven primarily by surging contract staffing fees--has become untenable for employers. Labor increased from 50% of hospital OpEx (2011-2019) to 60%+ of hospital OpEx in 2023. These costs are no longer predictable and are eating away at already razor-thin margins in most cases. We have heard from large health systems that contract staffing fees account for over half of recruitment costs, and that total costs of labor shortages are estimated into the hundreds of millions of dollars when accounting for lost revenues alongside direct costs of attrition and replacement. 💸 Healthcare is also the most licensed industry in America, and structural barriers to education and licensure that slow the entry of new professionals into the workforce are a major hurdle to innovation at the top of the talent funnel. We think this hurdle can also act as a defensible moat, however, for companies that do successfully gain traction in this space. 🎓 All to say, we are focused on building and investing in solutions that don't just treat the symptoms, but aim to fix the root cause of the problem: 🌱 Solutions that GROW the workforce, and 🤖 Solutions that OPTIMIZE the work itself If our POV resonates with you, please reach out! We are looking for EIRs to incubate new companies in this space alongside us, and we also write checks to pre-seed and seed teams already on their way. Special thanks for the insights to: Mark Rosenblum, Yaniv Sadka, Austin Dirks, Stephen R. Saine, Hank Capps, MD FAAFP, Laura P. Dannels, PhD, MBA, SPHR, Gabriel Szaszko, Wellstar Health System, Cleveland Clinic, Northwell Health, Mount Sinai Health System, Carl Madi, Lee Hudson Teslik, Alexi Nazem, James Hueston, Rachel Parlier, Raquel Scott, MBA, Zachary Fleitman, Grace Dhanraj, Tanya Beja, Tara Sullivan, Brittany Wadhwani and many others! Company Ventures Terrarium

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If you’re building at the edge of healthcare innovation, you need to understand how the ground may be shifting beneath you. Averin Capital is hosting a rare conversation between some of the FDA's most influential legal minds of the past 50 years: Peter Hutt - former FDA Chief Counsel and one of the key architects behind the modern food and drug regulatory system. Dan Troy - former FDA Chief Counsel and top advisor to multiple life sciences companies and the U.S. government. Moderated by David Berry, Managing Partner at our firm and one of biotech’s most prolific company builders. They’ll unpack how the FDA’s approach is evolving—and what that means for startups trying to do something new. We’ll cover: • Where regulation is tightening or loosening • How to navigate ambiguity without getting derailed • What smart companies are doing now to get ahead of regulatory risk 🗓 Register here: https://lnkd.in/e-KDH36k This is one of those conversations that doesn’t happen often, but shapes how you think for years. Don’t miss it.

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The trust between advisors and health systems is broken — and both sides are to blame. 🔗 Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/gQ6CB3As Healthcare systems are rejecting transformational opportunities because consultants have overpromised for decades. Meanwhile, gatekeeping middle managers and overwhelmed executives can't afford to take another swing at empty promises. With financial pressures from tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ahead, neither side can afford the status quo. In the latest episode of Power Supply Podcast, LogicSource Board Observer and Chair, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Mark Van Sumeren explains why advisors must adopt investment-based selling and get paid on outcomes, not possibilities. Health systems need to triage opportunities better, involve senior leadership directly, and kill underperforming projects fast. 🔗 Learn more about our healthcare practice: https://lnkd.in/gAV-MBer #Healthcare #SupplyChain #HealthcareProcurement

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