Oxeon Musings from HLTH 2019
Oxeon Musings from HLTH 2019
By Claire Kelsey, Associate at Oxeon Partners
In reflecting on the HLTH conference, I can point to a few major learnings and takeaways:
One is one of the most simple truths of healthcare: it is personal and it is universal. It doesn’t matter if you’re the patient sitting in the waiting room or the policymaker putting pen to paper around a next-generation value-based care bill; you are an active voice defining the future of healthcare.
The collective of Oxeon and Town Hall is uniquely positioned to contribute to these changes in healthcare and the industry’s belief in our mission and our ability to execute on that. We sit at the center of some of the healthcare’s most interesting, innovative ideas, which presents an almost unparalleled opportunity to make an impact.
And also that more than 3 days in Vegas can get incredibly weird.
Many of the thought leaders we heard from were sitting in their seat as a result of choosing to react actively instead of passively to a personal encounter somewhere within the healthcare ecosystem. Learning the “why” behind various companies and careers reminded me of the human connection that is fundamental to this industry and what drew many of you to it in the first place: possessing the ability to meaningfully touch the lives of others. Too often the accessibility and gravity of that privilege gets lost. Unsurprisingly, Mark Cuban said it best: “You don’t have to be THE leader to be a leader.”
Oxeon and Town Hall Ventures is a great example of that. Whether we’re building unparalleled leadership teams for our clients and portfolio companies, investing capital to serve the needs of the most vulnerable populations in America, or building businesses from the ground up to address problems that have yet to be adequately solved, we are all a part of something incredible that is changing the lives of millions of people. And other people recognize that, too. In a panel on investments in healthcare, Bryony Winn, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at BCBSNC, pointed to two portfolio companies, Eleanor and Cityblock, as two of the companies she was most passionate about partnering with in North Carolina. I was even told at one point, “Everyone at this conference is talking about and looking to Oxeon and Town Hall as key disruptors in the industry.” Pretty humbling to be associated with that.
There was also a lot of learning to be had. I started my time at the conference in a discussion moderated by Andy Slavitt on the policy challenges facing healthcare reform, and heard from three passionate actors who reminded me of the power of telling your story and doing something when it’s easier to complain that no one else is. For anyone else intimidated by the public sector, here are three steps to get you started. Begin by connecting as people again. Next, know your issue. Finally, use that passion to channel a solution.
There was no post-lunch food coma to be had in the afternoon discussion moderated by Oxeon’s own David Whelan on slaying addiction and featuring another member of the Oxeon family, Corbin Petro, CEO of Eleanor Health. The multifaceted group of panelists covered a variety of topics including the need for whole-person care models, challenges to the transitions of justice-involved individuals, stigma, and the use of digital therapeutics as a component of treatment, emphasizing treating addiction as a chronic disease.
The day concluded with an engaging (and slightly raunchy) back and forth between Mark Cuban and Andy Slavitt. While I could write an entirely separate recap of that half hour, Cuban did make some particularly poignant points. He continually pointed to distinguishing health from healthcare and our country’s disproportionate attention to the latter, and suggested that many of the fundamental flaws of the system lie in failing to pay attention to what happens before someone enters hospital doors. Cuban also reminded us all of the role we play in driving reform; you don’t have to be a CEO or the President to be a change agent. However he did leave us all wondering about his future political aspirations.
Day two involved delving into several of the innovative, patient-first care delivery models serving both our aging and millennial populations. These conversations reinforced a theme present throughout the entire conference: Social Determinants of Health are here to stay; there was not a panel or keynote speech without somebody referencing how vital SDoH are. When addressing the needs of chronically ill patients, paying attention to tools such as patient-reported outcomes and in-home care delivery enable us to better address social determinants and key drivers of health, and in turn, leads to better quality outcomes. On the other side of the coin, it is no surprise that millennials want high-quality, convenient care that is built for the challenges of their everyday lives; I enjoyed learning about several companies who have mastered this art while simultaneously keeping the patient at the center.
Tuesday wrapped with another one of my favorite HLTH 2019 moments: Trevor Price and Steve Kraus’s keynote discussion with Adam Boehler. While Trevor absolutely lagged behind Cuban on the number of F-bombs dropped, Adam reminded us all of the power of the art of salesmanship, the importance of pattern recognition, the effectiveness of picking up a phone, and that it is, in fact, possible to get things done in the government.
A final highlight was watching the Break into the Boardroom's (BiB) Get on Board program take place throughout the conference. This initiative intends to accelerate the road to gender parity in the boardroom for privately backed healthcare companies. In just three days, the BiB team had conversations with 279 women who were interested in boards and 70 organizations seeking advisors and/or board members. As a result of these conversations, the BiB team made 415 candidate recommendations (some candidates were played on multiple slates) and ultimately 125 candidate introductions to CEOs, some of which met in person at the BiB booth at the conference. As a result, we anticipate 10-30 board placements.
As is evidenced in the above, HLTH 2019 was a resounding success on all fronts. I look forward to continuing to learn from several of the thought leaders I met and watch as these disruptors of healthcare continue to drive serious change. See you in 2020, HLTH!