Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

This episode recorded live at the Becker’s Spring 2026 Payer Issues Roundtable features Dirk Soenksen, Chief Executive Officer of Ceresti Health, discussing why dementia is a major yet underrecognized cost driver and how it reshapes population health strategy. He highlights the critical role of family caregivers, the limitations of traditional care management, and how payer-focused models can improve outcomes while reducing costs.

This episode is sponsored by Ceresti Health.

In this episode, Maria Ansari, MD, Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Permanente Federation and Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of The Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser Permanente, joins the podcast to reflect on memorable moments throughout her career. She discusses how AI is driving new efficiencies, the ongoing challenge of rising healthcare costs, and the impact of an increasing disease burden on health systems and patient care.

In this episode, Kedar Mate, MD, co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Qualified Health, speaks with Nabile Safdar, Chief AI Officer, Emory Healthcare and Emory University, about practical strategies for AI adoption, from building trust with clinicians to scaling deployments effectively. They explore how leadership, consistent change management, and a strong organizational culture are essential to turning AI innovation into measurable outcomes.

This episode is sponsored by Qualified Health.

In this episode, Maureen Huber, CEO of Martti, an Equiti Solution, discusses why language access must be treated as core clinical infrastructure rather than a compliance checkbox. She shares how integrated interpretation services improve patient outcomes, clinician effectiveness, and overall health system performance.

This episode is sponsored by Martti an Equiti Solution.

This episode recorded live at the Becker’s 16th Annual Meeting features Kevin Mahoney, CEO of Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania & Chris Collins, CEO of ECG Management Consultants, discussing how academic health systems can scale while maintaining true integration across clinical care, research, and education. They explore governance, physician alignment, and leadership approaches that balance empathy with execution to drive systemwide performance and patient-centered care. 

This episode is sponsored by ECG Management Consultants.