Washington · Intelligence briefing
The Healthcare Advisory Committee
18 members picked from 400+ nominations to advise HHS and CMS. None has a stated interest in expanding physician ownership.
Record as of November 6, 2026
18
Members on the committee
0
With a stated interest in physician ownership
400+
Nominations reviewed
18
Members with at least one red flag
01 · The committee
What it is
Announced
March 26, 2026
Chair
Clive K. Fields, MD (VillageMD co-founder)
Reports to
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. CMS staffs the committee and the Administrator appoints its members.
Charter
Signed August 19, 2025; amended March 16, 2026 to allow up to 20 members. Two-year terms for members and the chair.
Authority
Section 222 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 217a); Federal Advisory Committee Act
Stated focus areas
Chronic disease prevention, outcomes accountability, real-time data, vulnerable populations, Medicare Advantage sustainability
Next meeting · November 9, 2026
Virtual public meeting. The committee votes on 16 working-group recommendations, including site-neutral pricing, Medicare Advantage and VA payment overlap, broker reform and Food is Medicine in Medicaid. Agenda
Meetings
| Date | Meeting | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2026 | Orientation (closed) and Meeting 1 (public) | Members sworn in; bylaws adopted 15 to 0; six working groups formed. Kennedy and Oz attended the closed session. Robbins absent, sworn in the next day. |
| August 31, 2026 | Meeting 2 (virtual) | Agenda: each working group presents its vision and initial ideas. No summary, transcript or coverage located as of November 6, 2026. |
| November 9, 2026 | Meeting 3 (virtual) | Vote on 16 proposed recommendations. Among them: collaborative care, Food is Medicine in Medicaid, site-neutral pricing, real-time claims integrity, Medicare Advantage and VA overlap ($22 billion), agent and broker reform, plan transparency, credentialing through the National Provider Directory, Medicaid data modernization. |
| February 22, 2027 | Meeting 4 (virtual, scheduled) | Working-group proposals and votes. |
| May 10, 2027 | Meeting 5 (virtual, scheduled) | Not yet posted. |
Working groups
| Working group | Lead | Members |
|---|---|---|
| MAHA wellness and chronic disease | Fields | Lynch, Robbins |
| Reducing administrative burden | Liljenquist | Laraway, Thomas-Hemak |
| Deploying real-time data | Caliri | Carmouche, Carlton |
| Improving care for vulnerable populations | Rhee | Huhn, Gassen |
| Strengthening Medicare Advantage | Bessler | McElroy, Fago |
| Crushing fraud, waste and abuse | Russ Thomas | Brandt, Gudapati |
Bylaws, meeting summaries and agendas only. No report or recommendation has been sent to HHS or CMS as of November 6, 2026.
Roster
| # | Name | Sector |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Elizabeth M. Fago | Nursing Homes & Post-Acute Care |
| 02 | Robert Bessler, MD | Value-Based Care / Hospital Medicine Staffing |
| 03 | David Carmouche, MD | Value-Based Care / Managed Care |
| 04 | Clive K. Fields, MD | Primary Care Consolidation |
| 05 | Kyu Rhee, MD | Insurer-Aligned / Community Health |
| 06 | Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD | Safety Net / FQHCs |
| 07 | William J. Gassen, JD | Integrated Hospital System |
| 08 | Dennis Laraway | Hospital System Finance |
| 09 | Dan Liljenquist, JD | Hospital System Strategy / Medicare Advantage |
| 10 | Andrew Lynch, PhD | For-Profit Behavioral Health |
| 11 | Russ Thomas, JD | Health IT / Claims Processing |
| 12 | Kimberly Brandt, JD | Government / Lobbying / Private Equity |
| 13 | Stephanie Carlton | Government / Management Consulting |
| 14 | Sebastian Caliri | Venture Capital / Health Tech |
| 15 | Tony Robbins | Wellness / Longevity Biotech |
| 16 | Ursel J. McElroy, MA | State Government / Long-Term Care |
| 17 | Valerie D. Huhn | State Government / Behavioral Health |
| 18 | Jenni Gudapati, PhD | Value-Based Care Analytics / Education |
02 · The 18 members
Dossiers
Elizabeth M. Fago
The Donor
Healthcare entrepreneur, Home Quality Management (founder; sold 2007)
Nursing Homes & Post-Acute Care6 red flags →
Robert Bessler, MD
The Hospitalist Industrialist
CEO, Honest Health
Value-Based Care / Hospital Medicine Staffing3 red flags →
David Carmouche, MD
The Shapeshifter
EVP and Chief Medical and Commercial Officer, Lumeris
Value-Based Care / Managed Care4 red flags →
Clive K. Fields, MD
The VillageMD Walgreens Entanglement
Co-founder and former Chief Medical Officer, VillageMD
Primary Care Consolidation5 red flags →
Kyu Rhee, MD
The IBM-to-Aetna-to-Community Health Pipeline
President & CEO, NACHC (National Association of Community Health Centers)
Insurer-Aligned / Community Health5 red flags →
Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD
The Safety Net Voice
President & CEO, The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education
Safety Net / FQHCs3 red flags →
William J. Gassen, JD
The Hospital Lobby's Incoming Chairman
President and CEO, Sanford Health
Integrated Hospital System5 red flags →
Dennis Laraway
The Cleveland Clinic's Money Man
EVP and CFO, Cleveland Clinic
Hospital System Finance6 red flags →
Dan Liljenquist, JD
The Bain Strategist Inside Intermountain
Chief Strategy Officer, Intermountain Health
Hospital System Strategy / Medicare Advantage4 red flags →
Andrew Lynch, PhD
Acadia Healthcare's Man at the Table
Chief Strategy Officer, Acadia Healthcare
For-Profit Behavioral Health10 red flags →
Russ Thomas, JD
The Claims Infrastructure Gatekeeper
CEO, Availity
Health IT / Claims Processing5 red flags →
Kimberly Brandt, JD
The Revolving Door Made Flesh
Deputy Administrator and COO, CMS
Government / Lobbying / Private Equity6 red flags →
Stephanie Carlton
The Consultant Running CMS
Deputy Administrator and Chief Clinical AI Officer, CMS
Government / Management Consulting4 red flags →
Sebastian Caliri
The Palantir-to-8VC Pipeline
Partner, 8VC
Venture Capital / Health Tech4 red flags →
Tony Robbins
The Celebrity Play
Author and investor, Fountain Life (co-founder); CMS lists no organization
Wellness / Longevity Biotech5 red flags →
Ursel J. McElroy, MA
The State Aging Director
Director, Ohio Department of Aging
State Government / Long-Term Care3 red flags →
Valerie D. Huhn
Missouri Mental Health Under DOJ Scrutiny
Director, Missouri Department of Mental Health
State Government / Behavioral Health4 red flags →
Jenni Gudapati, PhD
The Idaho Value-Based Care Academic
President and Founder; Program Director, HealthyInsights.ai; Boise State University
Value-Based Care Analytics / Education2 red flags →
03 · Pattern
Who the committee serves
| Sector | Count | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital systems and finance | 3 | Gassen, Laraway, Liljenquist |
| Value-based care and managed care | 3 | Bessler, Carmouche, Gudapati |
| Primary care consolidation | 1 | Fields |
| Insurance-adjacent and claims | 2 | Rhee, R. Thomas |
| For-profit behavioral health | 1 | Lynch |
| Government (CMS) | 2 | Brandt, Carlton |
| Venture capital and health tech | 1 | Caliri |
| Wellness and celebrity | 1 | Robbins |
| State government | 2 | McElroy, Huhn |
| Safety net and FQHCs | 1 | Thomas-Hemak |
| Nursing homes and post-acute care | 1 | Fago |
Who is not at the table
- •Independent physician practice owners
- •Physician-owned hospital operators
- •Rural hospital administrators outside a system
- •Patient advocacy organizations unaffiliated with industry
- •Healthcare antitrust experts
- •Medical school debt and physician workforce experts
- •Uninsured or underinsured patient representatives
- •Direct primary care physicians
- •Independent emergency medicine groups
- •Physicians who have testified against hospital consolidation
- •Academic researchers on hospital market concentration
- •State attorney general staff investigating health system pricing
04 · Scrutiny
Who has objected
- April 6, 2026AACOM: no osteopathic physicians were appointed. source
- May 13, 2026Public Citizen: financial conflicts are widespread and no patient or consumer representative sits on the committee. source
- July 14, 2026Senators Merkley and Wyden wrote to Kennedy and Oz: most members are executives or investors who stand to benefit; they question FACA balance. No reply found. source
- August 1, 2026Public Citizen urged HHS and CMS to disband or reconstitute the committee. source
05 · The thesis
The structural conclusion
“The committee is built to protect the incumbent healthcare industrial complex: large hospital systems, Medicare Advantage insurers, value-based care platforms, and the health IT infrastructure that serves them. The branding promises disruption. The roster guarantees continuity.”