Here are the companies and trends we’re watching

It’s officially a new year for the healthcare industry, as biopharma and health system executives, investors, reporters and others make the annual trek to the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

The Fierce Healthcare team is on the ground at JPM and will keep you updated with the latest headlines from the event.

Kicking off the slate of sessions Monday morning: Fresenius Medical Care at 9:45 a.m. PT, at the same time as AI chipmaker Nvidia. Baxter International, a medical supply company hit hard by Hurricane Helene in late September, will present at 10:30 a.m. PT. The company, the  U.S.’ top supplier of hospital IV fluids and peritoneal dialysis solutions, reduced its orders to hospitals and health systems after Hurricane Helene took down its North Cove, North Carolina facility, one of its largest manufacturing plants. The company is still working to fully restore its North Cove production to pre-hurricane levels. 

The Fierce Healthcare team will be keeping an eye out for the latest dealmaking, including investments, M&A tie-ups and partnerships, as they shake out at this year’s JPM.

There will be more than 500 public and private healthcare and life sciences companies presenting at this year’s conference. But notable absences this year include Walgreens, CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group and other major health plans.

It’s likely that security will be tighter at the Westin St. Francis and other in-person events in San Francisco’s Financial District this week, in response to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last month, although J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. have not provided specific details about additional security measures.

Here’s a rundown of what we’re watching this week:

Several high-profile health systems will take the stage at JPM across Monday and Tuesday. 

Highlights include presentations from Ascension, AdventHealth, Intermountain Healthcare and Providence on Monday, along with CommonSpirit Health, Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins on Tuesday morning. 

Sessions with non-profit systems are held separately from the wheeling and dealing within the Westin St. Francis. 

The conversation around these health systems is likely to be different from what we heard a year ago at JPM. These organizations saw notable financial improvements across 2024 compared to 2023 as outpatient revenue, operating margins and length of stay for patients improved. 

Volumes have rebounded from pandemic lows for many systems, too. 

However, healthcare costs continue to rise, and health systems have also run into contentious negotiations with health plans as they look for greater reimbursement to manage it. This has led some providers to pull out of contracts, or to stop accepting Medicare Advantage. 

The current state of contract negotiations with payers is a likely talking point at JPM. 

While health systems, health tech companies and drugmakers will be well-represented at this year’s JPM, the health insurance industry is largely a no-show on the agenda. 

Cigna and Centene were both listed as companies that would attend on an earlier iteration of the conference agenda but had been removed from the final version made available on Tuesday. The only health plans represented are smaller plans, Alignment Healthcare and Clover Health. 

Another Insurtech, Oscar Health, changed course and will not attend after being listed on a prior version of the agenda. 

Health plan leaders have exercised significant caution in the wake of Thompson’s death last month. Thompson was murdered in midtown Manhattan while walking to UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor day. 

While the case is ongoing, evidence points to insurers’ business practices as a motive. Bullets found at the scene reportedly read “deny,” “delay” and “defend” – alleged strategies used by insurers to hinder access. The suspected shooter, 26-year-old Maryland native Luigi Mangione, was charged as a terrorist given the motive likely at play, according to the New York Police Department. 

Some major companies – including UHG – removed their leadership pages entirely, while others pulled images of their top executives, while keeping names available. Centene also hosted its investor day shortly after the shooting and quickly moved to a virtual event. 

The JPM conference is the first major event for the industry following the shooting, and it’s clear executives are taking a cautious approach to public appearances for now. UnitedHealth Group will report its fourth-quarter results on Thursday as the conference winds down and may face questions from investors on how it’s regrouped internally following Thompson’s death. 

Public health tech companies presenting at JPM this year include Waystar, Tempus AI and Teladoc on Monday and Progyny and Evolent Health presenting on Tuesday. 

Physician enablement company Privia Health also presents on Tuesday. 

GoodRx, Health Catalyst and virtual mental health provider Talkspace will take the stage on Wednesday. 

2024 saw several health tech companies go public, namely Waystar and Tempus AI, so the industry will likely be keeping a close eye on how those companies are faring in the public market after a dearth of IPOs in the past three years. 

Teladoc executives will be highlighting the company’s turnaround story after it tapped a new CEO, Chuck Divita, back in June to improve the company’s financial performance. During a call with investors in October, Mala Murthy, Teladoc’s chief financial officer, called 2025 an “important repositioning year” for Teladoc.   

Meanwhile, Talkspace continues to expand its business with payers and employers. The company grew its revenue 23% in the third quarter and turned last year’s net loss into a profit of $1.9 million. 

 Expect a lot of announcements and discussion about artificial intelligence capabilities as digital health companies look to build out their technology offerings. 

Privately held digital health companies on site at JPM this week include ConcertAI, Monogram, IncludedHealth, Sword Health, Wellsky, Somatus, Omada Health, Aledade, Cityblock Health, Verily, Spring Health, Transcarent, Personify Health, Virta Health, Color Health, Capital Rx and Innovaccer. 

As digital health companies work to scale their businesses in healthcare, we’ll be keeping an eye out for new partnerships between startups and traditional, brick-and-mortar players to provide a continuum of care. 

Big tech companies are expanding their reach into the healthcare market. AI chipmaker Nvidia is presenting at JPM on Monday morning and Salesforce will be on stage early Wednesday evening. 

This year, JPM is featuring a Women’s Health Series on Tuesday afternoon with panel discussions on leadership, investment in research, gaps in care and benefits and government policy and investment partnerships. 

 Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) will share the agency’s unique funding model and how its transforming women’s health research.

Women’s health executives Kate Ryder, CEO of Maven and Shyamali Choudhury

Chief Commercial Officer, Pomelo Care, will be on hand to share their perspectives on gaps in care from fertility through menopause, what the employer benefits landscape currently looks like, who is innovating, and what role employers can/should have in improving the ecosystem.

And, investors and biotech executives will take the stage to explore what is preventing investment and how public-private partnerships can help unblock the flow of capital. 

At the Fierce JPM Week event in San Francisco, hosted by Fierce Pharma, Fierce Biotech and Fierce Healthcare, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will be a featured speaker on Tuesday afternoon to share her insights and vision for The White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. 

Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, will be a keynote presenter on Monday while former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley will be a keynote speaker on Tuesday. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA Commissioner, will take the stage on Wednesday for a keynote presentation.

Outgoing HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra also will be on-site Wednesday morning for an on-stage discussion. 

Advancements with AI will likely dominate discussions this week as companies throughout healthcare, from payers to virtual care companies and health systems, are making strategic moves to keep pace with the fast-evolving technology. 

The conference will feature two panel discussions on AI. On Monday morning, Shiv Rao, M.D., CEO of Abridge and Hamid Tabatabaie, CEO and president at CodaMetri will join Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Health & Life Sciences and Omri Yoffe, founder and CEO at Vi, to discuss real-world use cases of AI. 

Another panel Wednesday morning will focus on the regulatory and policy outlook for AI in diagnostic testing featuring Troy Tazbaz, director of the Digital Health Center of Excellence (DHCoE) within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the FDA.