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Rethinking Specialty Care with Elevance Health, Fallon Health, Elite Health Plan, & Vori Health

Bright Spots in Healthcare

Release Date: 08/05/2026

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Bright Spots in Healthcare

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In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together an all-star panel of leaders who are reshaping the future of Medicaid and social care. Our guests include: Vanita Pindolia, Vice President, Medicare Star Ratings, Emergent Holdings (BlueCross BlueShield Michigan) Jason Merola, MD, Chief Medical Officer, MVP Health Care Charlotta Eriksson, Lead Director, National VBC Partnerships (Specialty), Aetna Mary O’Connor, MD, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder, Vori Together, they explore: How Medicare Advantage plans are embedding Stars, CAHPS, and adherence...

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More Episodes

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together health plan and specialty care leaders to examine a challenge becoming increasingly important to healthcare organizations: how to make sure the right specialty expertise reaches the right patient at the right moment without simply adding another disconnected program.

The discussion explores what happens when organizations rethink specialty care as a pathway rather than an isolated episode. Across health plans and specialty care organizations, the conversation looks at how earlier identification, better triage, care navigation, workflow integration, physician engagement, and technology can help organizations improve access while making better use of limited specialist capacity.

This is a practical discussion for health plan and provider leaders navigating rising specialty costs, growing demand, limited specialist capacity, and increasingly complex member needs.

Our guests include:

  • Shantanu Agrawal, MD, Chief Health Officer, Elevance Health

  • Lora Council, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Fallon Health

  • Sunil Shivaram, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Elite Health Plan

  • Jessica Landin, CEO, Vori Health

Together, they explore:

  • How organizations can improve specialty access by identifying, triaging, and routing patients earlier, rather than simply adding specialist capacity

  • How health plans and specialty organizations are redesigning care pathways to better connect primary care, specialists, behavioral health, navigation, and community resources

  • How AI, predictive analytics, digital screening, and asynchronous care can extend clinical capacity while helping specialists focus on patients who need their expertise most

  • What it takes to build more connected specialty care models that improve access, reduce fragmentation and unnecessary utilization, and deliver better outcomes and experiences for patients

This episode offers an inside look at how leading organizations are rethinking specialty care not by adding more disconnected solutions, but by improving how expertise is allocated, coordinated, and delivered across the patient's journey.

Panelist Bios here:
https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/rethinking-specialty-care-new-opportunities-to-improve-outcomes-experience-and-affordability/

 

Download the Episode Guide:
Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-Guide-Bright-Spots-in-Health-Care-07-30-26.pdf 

Key Insights Summary:
Find key insights from the discussion, guest takeaways, and detailed moderator notes captured by Eric during the conversation. 

Thank You to Our Episode Partner, Vori Health

Vori Health helps health plans and provider organizations rethink musculoskeletal care through an integrated, physician-led model that brings physicians, physical therapists, health coaches, and technology together around the patient. Rather than treating specialty care as an isolated episode, Vori’s approach is designed to provide coordinated, longitudinal support while helping patients access the right care at the right time.

The model also reflects a broader shift discussed throughout this episode: using technology to extend the care team, identify patients earlier, support engagement between visits, and connect patients to the resources they need across the healthcare system. Vori’s digital and AI-enabled tools can support asynchronous care, provide feedback to clinicians, and help identify patient needs before they escalate into higher-cost settings or worse outcomes.

Learn more about Vori Health - http://vorihealth.com. 

Schedule a Meeting with Jessica Landin, CEO, Vori Health

To explore how Vori Health can help your organization rethink MSK care, improve access, reduce fragmentation, and build a more coordinated specialty care model, reach out to show producer Vekonda Luangaphay at [email protected] to schedule a conversation with Jessica Landin, CEO, Vori Health.


About Bright Spots Ventures:

Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.

 

We help healthcare leaders discover what’s working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the “bright spots” in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.