Upward Growth Substack

The CY 2027 Final Rule Is Out. What Changed, What's New, and Why It Matters If You Sell to Health Plans.

CMS finalized the biggest Stars overhaul in a decade, rolled back four health equity requirements, and added supplemental benefit rules that weren't…

Apr 7 • Ryan Peterson

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March 2026

Your Deal Was Moving. Then You Asked Your Health Plan Buyer for Data.

You need plan data to prove ROI. But asking for it before the case is made is the fastest way to lose a deal you were winning.

Mar 31 • Ryan Peterson

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Blues Plans Are Consolidating From Within. Your Pipeline May Not Reflect It Yet.

What's driving the wave of Blues affiliations, what the CMS data actually shows, and what changes about how you sell to a Blue that's now part of…

Mar 24 • Ryan Peterson

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Your Health Plan Buyer Is Cutting Providers. Here's What That Changes About Your Deal.

Health plans are tightening their provider networks across MA, Medicaid, and commercial. Here's what's driving it, what it's doing to your sales cycle…

Mar 17 • Ryan Peterson

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Every Health Tech Vendor Needs a Point of View on Outcome-Based Pricing

Health plan buyers are going to ask. Boards already are. Whether you adopt it, adapt it, or explain why your current model is better, here's the…

Mar 10 • Ryan Peterson

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How Health Plans Are Scoring AI-Enabled Vendors in 2026

Most vendors are positioning around their technology. Plans are scoring six other things.

Mar 3 • Ryan Peterson

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February 2026

OBBBA Cut Nearly $1 Trillion From Medicaid. Here's What That Means for Health Tech Vendors.

Federal spending cuts, work requirements, and negative MCO margins are hitting at the same time. What that means for your pipeline, your pricing, and…

Feb 24 • Ryan Peterson

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You're Not Losing Health Plan Deals to Other Vendors. You're Losing Them to Forces Inside the Plans.

Inaction, internal builds, and budget elimination are winning more of your deals than any named competitor.

Feb 17 • Ryan Peterson

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Health Plan Buyers Have Split Into Three Camps. Here's How to Sell to Each One.

The same pitch won't work on a plan cutting vendors and a plan accelerating investment. This is the qualification framework and playbook for selling to…

Feb 10 • Ryan Peterson

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CMS Is Ending the Risk Adjustment Arbitrage Era (Here's What That Means for Your Health Plan Deals)

The 2027 Advance Notice reshapes which vendors win and which need to reposition. Five signals to know before your next health plan buyer conversation.

Feb 3 • Ryan Peterson

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January 2026

How the Prior Auth Deadline Is Affecting Vendors Who Don't Sell Prior Auth

Health plans met the deadline by speeding up denials. Now they have problems in appeals, provider relations, and member experience.

Jan 27 • Ryan Peterson

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Why "AI-Powered" Is Costing You Health Plan Deals (And What to Say Instead)

AI messaging now triggers skepticism, not interest. The vendors still winning changed what they lead with.

Jan 20 • Ryan Peterson

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