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The Strategist in Brief: February 12, 2026 · The Strategy Catalyst Dispatch

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  Anika: This is the strategist in brief for February 12th, 2026.
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  Anika: your quick audio rundown of the top headlines from Strategy Catalyst Newsletter.
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  Anika: Here's what strategy leaders should know this week first, some breaking news.
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  Anika: The Trump administration is scrapping.
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  Anika: Its proposed three 40 B rebate pilot.
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  Anika: Just weeks after a federal court issued a temporary block on procedural grounds, if the administration revives the pilot, it has agreed to go through a new rulemaking process with advanced notice and public comment.
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  Anika: This edition's key Market Dive looks at the latest quarterly and full year earnings reports across the healthcare sector.
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  Anika: HCA Healthcare's strong results showcase not only its ability to leverage scale to control costs, but also its disciplined approach to capital spending and systemness.
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  Anika: payers with exposure to Medicare Advantage like UnitedHealth and Elance continue to face a mismatch between utilization and reimbursement trends while commercially focused payers with value-based capabilities like Cigna are thriving.
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  Anika: And Amazon's plan to spend nearly 200 billion of its capital on AI related investments is spooking investors.
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  Anika: But the company might be able to find further synergies with its healthcare segment In other payer news, payer stocks plummeted more than 20%.
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  Anika: After CMS gave notice that next year's Medicare advantage rate increase will be essentially flat The agency is also moving to exclude chart reviews without follow-up care from their risk adjustment model.
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  Anika: for profit plans that effectively gamed the system will face a larger hit to their revenues.
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  Anika: Health systems might prefer to work with the regional nonprofits and Blue Cross Blue Shield plans that are now taking market share from the national for-profits.
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  Anika: But the changes could also shutter provider sponsored plans that can't absorb a margin hit in the current environment.
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  Anika: Staying on Medicare Advantage, Chen Med is no longer widely prescribing GLP one medications to its members for weight loss, citing unintended side effects like muscle loss and increased falls.
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  Anika: Chen med's.
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  Anika: Focus on a single patient type seniors on MA allows them to tailor their approach and make a more compelling value-based pitch to payers.
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  Anika: Health system sponsored weight management programs might consider similar moves.
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  Anika: But a shift away from GLP ones might disappoint younger consumers who specifically join these programs to obtain prescriptions in m and a News.
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  Anika: Musculoskeletal disruptor Sort Health is acquiring rival Kaya Health in a$285 million deal that will consolidate their customer bases.
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  Anika: In addition to greater scale, the acquisition might help sort healthcare for patients with a wider range of conditions, making their app enabled service more attractive to employers.
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  Anika: And finally, this week's featured graphic takes a comprehensive look at contract disputes between payers and providers that spill out into public view.
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  Anika: Unsustainable economics and eroding negotiating leverage are making private compromises harder to reach, leaving patients in limbo for weeks, months, or even years.
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  Anika: Be sure to check out the full newsletter to see the graphic That concludes this week's edition.
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  Anika: Be sure to check out the full version on the web@hmacademy.com.
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  Anika: Thanks for listening.