The need for stronger collaboration between payers and providers has always been clear in the healthcare industry; we know that better alignment leads to better outcomes. But in practice, that alignment has often been slow and built on cautious trust. But that isn’t our main focus anymore.
What we are seeing now in the K2 Collaborative is a meaningful shift. Payer and provider relationships are moving beyond that foundational trust-building into something far more strategic. The conversation is no longer about if they can work together. Instead, it’s about finding ways payers and providers can work together so that everyone wins.
The 2026 Points of Light research we’re working on right now reflects this transition clearly. Across these new partnerships, the focus has narrowed and intensified around a central priority: making value-based care work on a deeper level.
Where Collaboration Is Delivering Real Results
Across the Points of Light examples we’re seeing this year, a few stand out, particularly in how organizations are scaling data exchange or addressing social determinants of health (SDOH).
- One partnership is using eHealth Exchange to operationalize bulk FHIR for quality reporting and risk adjustment. Bulk FHIR (also called networked FHIR) is really the holy grail of data exchange; rather than relying on manual chart reviews or fragmented data, this approach makes it possible to exchange large volumes of standardized clinical data very quickly. As a result, participants are seeing reduced administrative burden and an increase in data completeness.
- Another partnership is addressing SDOH by embedding payer data on clients’ clinically suspected conditions directly into provider workflows. This kind of integration allows care teams to address barriers that have historically been invisible within clinical systems, enabling more effective care gap closure and more realistic care planning.
- In Ohio, a multistakeholder collaboration is focusing on improving maternal health by digitizing and standardizing pregnancy risk assessments. By replacing manual, paper-based processes with integrated data workflows, the partnership significantly increased participation and enabled earlier identification of high-risk pregnancies.
These examples are pretty high-level, so if you want to know more, keep an eye out for each of those Points of Light coming before the K2 Collaborative Summit.
What connects these examples is not just technology but intentional alignment. Each initiative reflects a shift toward shared accountability. Payers, providers, and vendors are jointly designing solutions, embedding them into workflows, and measuring success through shared outcomes.
What Makes K2 Different and Why It Matters Now
The K2 Collaborative Summit creates a rare space where payers and providers can come together as peers, not adversaries. No other conference does that. It is one of the few environments designed specifically for shared dialogue around real challenges, real strategies, and real outcomes. The agenda, including every keynote and every panel, is all targeted around that goal.
The keynotes at this year’s summit, happening May 5-7, will address how healthcare is entering a disruptive, AI-driven era where empowered patients, rising cost pressures, and administrative complexity are forcing payers, providers, and vendors to rethink their roles and strategies to succeed in a rapidly modernizing ecosystem. Here are some of the panel topics I’m excited about:
- Interoperability and using automation with integrity.
- Prior authorization and how to navigate the nontechnical barriers to compliance.
- Ambient documentation and how to turn clinical conversations into actionable data for both payer and provider workflows.
To see all panels and the rest of the agenda, go to the KLAS K2 Collaborative Summit site.
The presentations from Points of Light case studies add another layer of value to the summit. These examples provide tangible proof of what is working across the industry, offering a window into how organizations are overcoming barriers and delivering results.
At the end of the day, the summit creates space for real perspective and networking. Payers are able to gain insight into provider realities, providers are better able to understand payer constraints, and both sides can leave with a clearer sense of how to move forward together.
Moving Forward: Collaboration as a Strategic Imperative
Despite progress, we know that collaboration is still hard at times. Across partnerships, the same systemic barriers continue to surface, including misaligned incentives, inconsistent performance metrics, regulatory complexity, and ongoing concerns around data use and trust.
However, the organizations leading this shift are not waiting for perfect conditions. They are building structured governance, aligning incentives, investing in interoperable technologies, and committing to accountability. What we will see in the 2026 Points of Light and in those who attend the summit will not just be progress, but momentum. The industry is moving from experimentation to execution, from alignment to performance.
For those looking to understand where payer and provider work is headed, the full report coming near the end of April offers a deeper look at the strategies, challenges, and outcomes shaping this next phase of payer and provider collaboration.
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