Commentary
MEET THE PURCHASERS AND PLANS REGION – PLANS IN THE HOT SEAT
Healthcare is a dance, if an inelegant one, between patients, providers, insurance companies, and increasingly, employers. While they all have the same basic goals – quality healthcare at an affordable cost – who is leading and who is following isn’t always clear. This year, it looks like plans have less control on the dance floor, with employers taking more of the lead, patients less willing to get pushed around, and providers increasingly going direct to employers and leaving traditional plans without a partner.
While the Purchasers and Plans region brings back many return teams for the 2026 March Healthcare Classic, there’s a distinctly different feel about the arena this year. The stakes seem higher, the determination stronger, the tipping point much closer at hand.
➤ Watch the tournament unfold on our LinkedIn page.
➤ Choose your Top Four and Champion picks here!
THE EIGHT TRENDS AND THE FIRST FOUR MATCHUPS
This region’s first competition features a 2025 rookie that debuted as an eight seed and returns this year at the top of the field. If seeding advancement is any indication of influence, fans should definitely keep an eye on this one. Employers Rewrite the Benefits Playbook (1) addresses the redesign of health benefits to better align with workforce needs and evolving care models, and improve employee experience, retention, and recruitment – not just control costs. This number one seed will be hard to beat, but Regional Health Plans Consolidate (8) will give it a go. This eight seed has been sniffing around the edges of our tournament for many years, ebbing and flowing in response to economic currents. Regional consolidation is emerging as a strategy to achieve scale, strengthen negotiating power, and maintain market relevance. By the end of 2026, the regional plan landscape may look markedly leaner.
In the next bout, a consumer trend takes on a product trend. Consumers began staking their claim many years ago in the industry and have appeared in multiple tournament trends either as star players or supporting bench strength. This year’s Consumerization of Healthcare Demand (4) trend sums up the increasing comfort that healthcare consumers have with the full-court press, demanding more information on cost, quality, and experience from their providers. This trend will face off against Product Specialization Accelerates (5), a nod to the movement away from one-size-fits-all offerings to specialized products tailored to specific populations, employers, and risk profiles, making targeted product design a key competitive differentiator.
In its third appearance in the March Healthcare Classic, Value-Based Care arrives as VBC Enters Its Prove-It Era (3), a rubber-meets-road moment for this trend. Purchasers demand measurable, scalable results from long-standing models, while employers and plans are determining which approaches truly deliver better outcomes and lower costs. In 2026, VBC will be defined less by ambition and more by execution. Taking on VBC in the first round is Acceleration of Direct Contracting (6), a Tournament All-Star that continues to signal growing market dissatisfaction with conventional plan structures and a desire for more predictable outcomes. From primary care memberships to bundled surgical services and onsite or near-site clinics, direct relationships between employers and health systems are reshaping how care is delivered.
The veteran drug cost team returns for a fourth tournament as Rx Cost Control Intensifies (2), with pharmacy spend continuing to be a dominant cost driver for purchasers, fueled by specialty drugs and high-demand therapies like GLP-1s (2024 Champion). Employers and plans are deploying stricter utilization management, formulary changes, and contracting strategies to rein in costs. In the first round it accepts the challenge from the Medicare Advantage powerhouse franchise, appearing this year as Medicare Advantage (MA) Rebalancing (7). As regulatory scrutiny, risk adjustment updates, and cost pressures reshape plan strategies, 2026 will be a year of recalibration rather than unchecked expansion for Medicare Advantage, a player that has appeared in four previous tournaments, making it to the Round of 4 once and the Championship Game twice. Expect this clash of titans to be an early tournament highlight.
Meet the trends in the Providers, Policy and Pioneers regions.
What trends are the biggest healthcare changemakers? This year, the LinkedIn Community will decide!
To participate in the 2026 March Healthcare Classic, follow ro3 on LinkedIn and submit your Top Four and Champion predictions by Friday, March 27.
Starting Monday, March 30, the Community will vote round by round, narrowing the bracket down to the ultimate trend Champion. The bracket winner will be the participant whose predictions match most closely the Top Four and Champion trends as decided by the Community. The bracket winner will be announced on April 27!