When hospital CEOs appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee in late April, lawmakers were not content with conducting a traditional oversight hearing. They were signaling growing bipartisan frustration with a healthcare delivery system that has spent decades promising affordability improvements while costs continue to climb.

For more than 40 years, CMS and policymakers have tried to bend the healthcare cost curve through reimbursement cuts, utilization controls and reporting requirements. Yet the hearing made clear that incremental pressure on the existing model is no longer enough. Healthcare delivery organizations must begin redesigning how they compete, communicate value and measure success.