A Conversation: State of Care Delivery in America

At the 2025 World Medical Innovation Forum, Anne Klibanski, MD, President and CEO of Mass General Brigham, joined Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, for a candid, moderator-free conversation about the pressing issues shaping care delivery in the United States. Both leaders stepped into their roles in 2019 and have since guided their institutions through one of the most challenging periods in modern healthcare. Their shared perspective as longtime stewards of academic health systems offered a rare, inside look at how two of the nation’s largest providers are tackling the same set of urgent challenges.

Dr. Klibanski emphasized the transformative opportunity presented by the launch of the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, an effort to unite the strengths of Mass General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the system’s specialty and community hospitals into a single, integrated program. By combining research, diagnostics, and clinical care under one umbrella, the Institute is designed to accelerate discoveries, scale innovations, and deliver advanced therapies more effectively to patients across the region. This systemwide approach, Klibanski noted, allows for investments at scale and a stronger platform to bring forward breakthroughs in gene therapy, cell-based therapies, and diagnostics.

Mahoney echoed these themes, pointing to Penn Medicine’s own investment in radiopharmaceuticals and precision oncology. Both leaders agreed that the future of cancer care requires more than new discoveries – it demands models that can scale, lower costs, and improve patient access. Their perspectives highlighted a shared commitment at Penn and Mass General Brigham to ensure that innovation is not only groundbreaking but also widely accessible.

The conversation also touched on broader shifts in care delivery, including the expansion of home hospital programs, the adoption of AI tools to reduce administrative burdens, and the urgent need to strengthen the healthcare workforce. Klibanski pointed to Mass General Brigham’s work with federal partners and community programs to build stronger pipelines for clinicians and researchers, while Mahoney described Penn’s “earn to learn” approach to workforce training. Together, their perspectives highlighted both the challenges and the possibilities ahead, grounded in a shared belief that academic health systems must lead the way in shaping a more sustainable and equitable model of care.

Watch the session: