Living the Mission in Health and Business to Achieve Health Equity

As health disparities come under the spotlight, the urgency to achieve health equity in the healthcare sector intensifies. With the industry at a crossroads, a recent study funded by the NIH highlighted the staggering economic impact of these disparities, revealing an estimated cost of $451 billion to the economy in 2018 alone. That figure could jump as high as $1 trillion annually in spending by 2040 if the problem is left unsolved.

Are leading healthcare organizations stepping up to address this challenge? If so, what innovative strategies are reshaping the future to achieve health equity?

On Healthcare Rethink, host Brian Urban sat down with Sameer Kokan, VP and Chief of Staff to the CEO at Point32Health. This episode explores Point32Health’s transformative approaches to health equity.

Urban and Kokan’s discussion includes the following:

  • The significance of health equity in modern healthcare and its economic implications
  • The industry’s response and commitment to addressing health disparities
  • The role of innovative strategies and public accountability in driving health equity initiatives

With a rich background spanning various facets of healthcare, Sameer Kokan offers invaluable insights. From aspiring to be a physician to pivoting towards the business side of healthcare, Kokan’s diverse experiences mark the path of his journey. At Point32Health, he champions the cause of health equity, emphasizing the need for collaborative and data-driven approaches.

Recent Episodes

The U.S. healthcare system is under real strain—and it’s something both patients and physicians are feeling in everyday care. In Texas, those pressures are even more visible, where rapid population growth, rural access challenges, and regulatory complexity are making it harder for patients to get timely care and for doctors to focus on medicine…

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., with 683,491 deaths reported in 2024, according to the CDC. As cardiovascular care shifts toward access, prevention, and value-based outcomes, noninvasive therapies are gaining renewed attention for patients who continue to experience symptoms after traditional interventions. At the same time, rising healthcare costs…

Healthcare leadership is being redefined in real time. With the rise of AI, mounting financial pressures, and workforce burnout, executives today are operating in an environment of continuous disruption and uncertainty. In fact, industry leaders now rank workforce shortages and digital transformation among their top concerns—forcing a new kind of leadership that blends decisiveness…