2026 LoVasco Benefits Briefing
Please join us Thursday, February 12, 2026 from 8:30 to 11:45 am at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham for the 2026 LoVasco Benefits Briefing.
As healthcare costs continue to increase, many employers find themselves facing a deeper challenge: understanding where their money actually goes. Behind the rising spend lies a system built on opaque pricing structures, conflicting incentives, and layers of complexity that span hospitals, pharmacies, and care delivery networks. For HR leaders and executives alike, the fundamental question isn't just how much to spend—it's how to identify where meaningful control is even possible.
We invite you to join us for a half-day briefing designed to step back and examine the system behind the costs—through the lens of those who operate within it and employers who are actively navigating it.
This year’s session will explore:
- How healthcare pricing actually works, why traditional market forces rarely apply, and where employers can exert meaningful influence over hospital costs and site-of-care decisions.
- Why pharmacy spend continues to outpace other healthcare costs, how money flows through an increasingly opaque system, and what employers need to understand to create leverage.
- How confusion and friction in the healthcare experience drive avoidable utilization, and what targeted guidance and transparency can accomplish.
- How organizations of varying sizes are managing risk, making tradeoffs, and adapting their approaches to healthcare benefits.
This gathering offers a unique opportunity to hear from healthcare insiders, employer peers, and subject-matter experts who bring practical, real-world perspective to a complex system. Whether you are actively exploring changes or simply seeking greater clarity, this session is designed to inform better decision-making over the long term.
Topics & Speakers:
HEALTHCARE PRICING & MARKET DYNAMICS: Why healthcare doesn’t behave like a market
Employers often assume healthcare pricing works like other markets—competitive, transparent, and responsive to cost pressure. In reality, hospital pricing follows a different set of rules, shaped by incentives and contracts that are rarely visible to those paying the bill. This discussion will focus on what employers need to understand about how pricing behaves, why price competition rarely materializes, and where employers actually have influence when funding care through their health plans.
Shane Cerone | CEO | Kada Health
CARE ACCESS, NAVIGATION & TRANSPARENCY: How employees experience the system—and why it matters
Once a health plan is in place, employee decisions about where and how to access care play a significant role in both outcomes and cost. This discussion will explore how employees navigate a fragmented system today, where confusion and friction arise, and how clearer guidance and transparent access to care can meaningfully change decisions. The focus will be on directing people to appropriate sites of care, overcoming insurance and payment obstacles, and helping employees understand cost and quality before care is delivered.
Dean Jargo | CEO & Founder | Fair Market Health
Shannon Biergans | CEO | Advocate LLC
Dr. Paul Thomas | CEO and Medical Director | Plum Health
PHARMACY ECONOMICS: Following the money in the fastest-growing cost driver
Pharmacy has become one of the most complex and least understood components of employer-sponsored health plans. This session will unpack how money flows through the pharmacy benefit system, why pricing and incentives are often misaligned, and why employer understanding is critical to influencing one of the fastest-growing areas of healthcare spend.
Trevor Daer | President & Founder | Granite Peak Analytics
EXECUTIVE ROUNDTABLE: Real challenges, real decisions, real outcomes
In this panel discussion, executive leaders will share direct experiences from their own organizations—what they've tested, where they've seen results, and what hasn't delivered as expected. The conversation will cover practical considerations: balancing cost control with employee access, evaluating risk in different contexts, and making decisions when perfect information doesn't exist. The goal is straightforward insight that other employers can consider and adapt to their own circumstances.
Rob Dancer | CFO | Educational Data Systems Inc.
Kevin Roach | CEO | MHCS Family of Services
April Matalavy | CHRO| First State Bank
Complimentary valet parking. Proceed to Salon III & IV upon entry. Continental breakfast will be served at 8:00. The event will begin promptly at 8:30.