There were a lot of healthcare surprises this past year, and there are bound to be at least some in 2025 that take us by surprise. But that won’t stop us—or payers—from trying our darndest to plan ahead!

This year will bring a new presidential administration, new regulations, and new specialty drugs to market. And while no one has a crystal ball, Healthcare Brew asked a few executives at leading insurance and payer consultant companies what they predict might be on the horizon.

These answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Sandhya Rao, chief medical officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Prescription drug spending will continue to increase, especially driven by demand for high-cost brand drugs, like the GLP-1s for diabetes and weight loss. While these treatments are helping many of our members lead healthier lives, they are also increasing pharmaceutical costs. Our spending on these medications has risen by 250% over last year, putting us on track to spend nearly $200 million on these medications in 2024.

Keep reading here.—CC

CES—one of the biggest tech conferences in the US that brings together nearly 140,000 people—is coming up quickly. As usual, the conference has a designated digital health section, and yours truly will be on the ground in Las Vegas between January 6 and 10 to keep you posted on all you’ll need to know.

But in the meantime, we thought we could give you a little preview of what to expect—especially considering more than 19,000 industry attendees reported being interested in digital health programming under Consumer Technology Association (CTA)’s theme for this year, “The future of health,” according to René Quashie, VP of digital health at CTA, the organization that runs CES.

The planned conference programming covers a wide range of topics from artificial intelligence (AI) to digital therapeutics to workforce. Here’s what to expect for CES 2025.

Keep reading here.—CM

It was a busy year for the healthcare industry, from navigating the evolving reproductive rights landscape to high-profile cyberattacks to the meteoric rise of GLP-1s.

As the year came to an end, Healthcare Brew checked in with leaders from across the industry to see what they consider their biggest accomplishments of 2024. The executives shared their efforts in boosting community outreach, utilizing technology to boost healthcare access, and streamlining insurance.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Vickie Johnson, EVP and chief community officer, Cleveland Clinic

I’m proud of the work we’ve done to help build a healthy community for everyone. In 2024, that work included supporting the expansion of the [Ohio-based] Hitchcock Center for Women to help women experiencing addiction access care, recover, and rebuild for themselves and their families.

Keep reading here.—MA