Activate2025: Key Themes and Takeaways 

Key Insights for Advancing Trust, Innovation, and Member-Centricity in Healthcare 

In recent years, trust has taken center stage in healthcare, forming the foundation for effective relationships among patients, members, providers, and health plans. However, the increasing complexity of healthcare creates barriers between constituents and makes it harder to establish and maintain trusting relationships. AI presents a significant opportunity to drive change and generate much needed efficiencies, but stakeholders across the ecosystem remain cautious, and progress must be made to address concerns to accelerate adoption and realize value. Activate2025 served as an important forum to unpack these topics and address the challenges of trust within the healthcare ecosystem, providing opportunities to explore new approaches that put members at the center and harness the power of transformative technologies. 

Across 15 sessions, Activate2025 tackled some of the biggest issues facing healthcare today. Here are the top themes that were discussed: 

The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB)

The BBB was a focal point in many discussions, as health plans strive to place members at the center and build meaningful relationships. Provisions such as work requirements may reduce the number of Americans with health insurance, but health plans can mitigate disenrollment by proactively engaging with regulatory changes, prioritizing transparency, and streamlining processes to ensure compliance. Establishing clear communication channels is essential for helping members understand how the BBB impacts their coverage and experience, ultimately building trust. Innovative technologies like AI and advanced data governance frameworks can help health plans manage increased complexity, automate compliance, and provide personalized support. In her keynote fireside chat, Chiquita Brooks LaSure, former CMS administrator, emphasized the importance of finding opportunities during challenging times and urged organizations to focus on their positive impact. 

Building Trust Along the Member Journey

Healthcare is fraught with potential pitfalls that can quickly erode trust. Nevertheless, there are valuable touchpoints throughout the member journey, and the executive leadership panel stressed the importance of using these moments to establish and reinforce trust. When organizations create “moments that matter,” over time they build relationships strong enough to withstand negative events. Achieving this requires coordinated, cross-functional efforts to deliver proactive and tailored experiences that simplify healthcare for consumers. Often, new approaches to data management and engagement strategies are needed to meet this goal. 

Data: The Foundation for Member-Centric Experiences

Healthcare isn’t lacking data; rather, data is often unstructured, making it difficult to deliver efficient, member-centric experiences. Trust is built when each touchpoint is tailored and relevant, demanding contextual inputs rooted in accurate and accessible member data. To create consistent experiences across the entire consumer journey, data must be actionable across departments and inform program design to nurture trust. Looking ahead, organizations with strong consumer data strategies will be best positioned for success in an increasingly data-driven future. 

Governance: Streamlining Engagement and Building Trust

Proactive, transparent engagement that leads to streamlined experiences and reduced friction is widely recognized as essential for building trust between healthcare organizations and members. Yet, the necessary data, technology, and processes to deliver this level of engagement are not universally established. Effective governance is crucial for prioritizing member communications and executing a centralized engagement strategy. During an Activate2025 workshop, participants explored governance operating models, revealing benefits that include: 

• Better member experiences by matching touchpoints to consumer needs 

• Reduced abrasion and complaints, with improved alignment to TCPA requirements 

• Lower overall spend through suppression and consolidation 

• Enhanced visibility into outreach volumes, costs, and ROI 

• Cross-functional efficiencies

AI- Opportunities and Challenges

The future impact of AI on health plans remains uncertain. While senior stakeholders champion AI adoption as a key value driver, significant restrictions exist around generative AI use at the functional level. One of Activate2025’s AI Workshops explored compliant, practical applications of generative AI for member engagement, focusing on enhanced decision-making to empower employees and processes. These use cases are more accessible than those involving direct engagement between generative AI agents and health plan members. As keynote speaker Kate O’Neill noted, AI can drive efficiencies by acting on succinct instructions, but human involvement remains essential for delivering meaning and empathy. Data integrity is central to robust AI strategies; organizations with consolidated data frameworks will be able to develop versatile, agile AI solutions governed at the enterprise level. 

Conclusion 

Activate2025 underscored the pressing need for healthcare organizations to build trust, embrace innovation, and prioritize member-centricity in an increasingly complex environment. By proactively addressing regulatory changes, leveraging key touchpoints, structuring data for actionable insights, and implementing robust governance and AI strategies, the industry can move forward with confidence. As healthcare continues to evolve, those who place the member at the center and harness the potential of new technologies will lead the way toward improved experiences, stronger relationships, and better outcomes for all.