PwC's Next in Health

Reinventing Healthcare - Seizing the $1 Trillion Breakthrough

What will healthcare look like a decade from now? Host Glenn Hunzinger is joined by Greg Rotz, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Advisory Leader and Thom Bales, Principal, Health Services Advisory Leader, as they dive into the future of health—one driven by smarter tech, empowered consumers, and breakthrough science. From reimagining chronic care to building new business models, discover the mindset, partnerships, and capabilities that will define the next era of healthcare. Discussion highlights: * A trillion-dollar shift: who gains and who falls behind * The rise of the super consumer and personalized care * Why experience design will become core to life sciences * How health orgs can prepare with “no regrets” strategic moves * Collaborating across the ecosystem to drive faster, better, cheaper care   Speakers: * Glenn Hunzinger, US Health Industries Leader, PwC * Greg Rotz, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Advisory Leader, PwC * Thom Bales, Health Services Advisory Leader, PwC Linked materials: From breaking point to breakthrough: the $1 trillion opportunity to reinvent healthcare [https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/future-of-health.html] For more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.

The One Big Beautiful Bill: What It Means for the Future of U.S. Healthcare

Tune in as Glenn Hunzinger, PwC’s Health Industries Leader, sits down with Nichole Montgomery, Shannon O’Shea, and Phil Sclafani to unpack the sweeping implications of the newly signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). With nearly a third of the bill dedicated to healthcare, the team explores how this landmark legislation will reshape coverage, funding, and delivery across the payer, provider, and pharma landscape. Discussion highlights: * The OBBBA introduces new work requirements and eligibility rules that could lead to coverage loss for over 13 million people, placing new burdens on payers and states * Providers face increased uncompensated care, especially in rural areas, with added administrative complexity and a push toward technology and alternative care models * Payers are bracing for membership loss, reduced Medicaid funding, and increased administrative load as new eligibility rules take effect * Pharma may see reduced demand from public programs but gains through an orphan drug exemption and incentives for domestic manufacturing * The bill’s sweeping changes will disrupt healthcare, but with foresight, organizations can model financial impact, prepare for operational disruption, and plan strategic responses Speakers: * Glenn Hunzinger (host), Health Industries Leader, PwC * Shannon O'Shea, Principal, Health Transformation, Provider Clinical Transformation, PwC * Phil Scalfani, Principal, Customer Transformation, Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences, PwC * Nichole Montgomery, Principal, Health Transformation, Health Services, PwC Linked Materials: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/impact-of-obbba-on-us-health-system.html [https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/impact-of-obbba-on-us-health-system.html]  https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-policy-and-intelligence-institute.html [https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/impact-of-obbba-on-us-health-system.html] For more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.

Strategic Dealmaking in Health: Navigating Midyear Trends in 2025

Tune in as Glenn Hunzinger, PwC’s Health Industries Leader, connects with Nick Donkar, PwC’s U.S. Health Services Deals Leader, and Roel Van den Akker, PwC’s Pharma and Life Sciences Deals Leader, to discuss the 2025 midyear deals outlook across health services and pharma and life sciences. They explore how macroeconomic trends, regulatory pressures, and evolving investment strategies are shaping M&A activity and where new opportunities may emerge as companies look ahead to the second half of the year.    Discussion highlights:   * Health services deal volume remains resilient, with renewed investor interest in behavioral health, physician groups, and home-based care models * Private equity firms are focused on outpatient growth platforms and niche services like revenue cycle management to navigate cost and regulatory headwinds * Pharma and life sciences dealmaking is centered on targeted, asset driven M&A in the $1 to $5 billion range, rather than full scale platform acquisitions * Regulatory uncertainty from FDA resource constraints to evolving policies on pricing and probability of technical and regulatory success (PTRS), is complicating deal modeling and slowing transaction timelines * U.S. biopharma companies are increasingly sourcing early stage innovation from China, introducing new strategic opportunities along with cross border compliance and data challenges Speakers: Glenn Hunzinger, Health Industries Leader, PwC Nick Donkar, US Healthcare Deals Leader Roel Van den Akker, US Pharma & Life Sciences Deals Leader   Linked materials: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/health-services-deals-outlook.html https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/pharma-life-sciences-deals-outlook.html For more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.

Taking a closer look at the Most Favored Nation Pricing Executive Order

Tune in as Glenn Hunzinger, PwC’s Health Industries Leader, and Phil Scalfani, PwC’s Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Consulting Leader, discuss the Trump administration’s executive order on Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing and its far-reaching implications across the healthcare ecosystem. They break down what MFN pricing could mean for pharmaceutical companies, payers, PBMs, and the broader drug supply chain, and share perspectives on how organizations can navigate the uncertainty ahead.    Discussion Highlights: *  The MFN executive order is a bold attempt to lower U.S. drug prices by benchmarking them against the lowest prices paid in other high-income countries * Pharma companies may be forced to rethink global pricing strategies, balancing U.S. price cuts with potential increases or market exits abroad * A proposed shift to direct-to-consumer drug access could disrupt traditional roles for pharmacies, distributors, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) * Companies are preparing for significant uncertainty by reassessing deals, modeling financial impacts, and closely monitoring upcoming rulemaking and potential legal developments Speakers: Glenn Hunzinger, Health Industries Leader, PwC Philip Sclafani, Partner, Pharma & Life Sciences, PwC Linked materials: Most Favored Nation prescription drug pricing Executive Order [https://explore.pwc.com/health-policy-shifts-decoded] For more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.

Navigating the FDA disruption: 4 key actions for pharma

Tune in as Glenn Hunzinger, PwC’s Health Industries Leader, connects with Matt Rich, PwC’s Pharma and Life Sciences R&D Leader, to unpack the recent disruption at the FDA and what it means for the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. They discuss how companies can stay agile in the face of regulatory uncertainty, avoid preventable delays, and take practical steps to move programs forward with clarity. Discussion highlights: * Ongoing restructuring at the FDA is creating uncertainty and delays in drug and device approvals, with wide-ranging impacts across the pharma, biotech and medtech landscape. * While companies can’t control the regulatory environment, they can focus on improving internal speed, efficiency, and submission quality to keep programs moving forward * Avoiding preventable missteps, or “foot faults,” in data, endpoints, and submission packages is critical to reducing review delays and regulatory pushback * Diversifying risk by pursuing parallel regulatory pathways in other regions such as Europe and Japan can help accelerate access and reduce dependency on a single agency * In the absence of a clear playbook, companies should focus on what they can control by applying past lessons, staying disciplined, and collaborating across the industry to support more efficient FDA review processes Speakers: Matt Rich, PwC’s Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences R&D Leader Glenn Hunzinger, Partner, Health Industries Leader, PwC Linked materials: Navigating the FDA disruption: 4 key actions for pharma [https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/fda-disruption-implications-for-pharma.html] For more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.