AlixPartners’ survey of 200 healthcare and life sciences executives reveals a disconnect between operator and investor expectations.
Urgent action is required to tackle disruptions ranging from regulatory flux to workforce pressures.
U.S. healthcare operators face the challenge of securing reasonable profit margins at the dictated reimbursement rates while maintaining care levels—AI may not be the panacea in the near term.
The global life sciences sector’s historical pricing power is being eroded by policy shifts, competitive pressures, and supply chain disruptions.
The industry stress is intensifying and already evident in some segments of the industry. There are pragmatic, operational fixes that can help, including increasing service-line profitability, renegotiating contracts with payers and suppliers and improving revenue cycle effectiveness.
Key insights
Regulatory and policy uncertainty is the biggest challenge for HLS operators, but less than half of respondents are significantly prepared for the wide range of potential changes.
Most executives are prioritizing strategic M&A in 2026, but only a fraction are ready to execute deals quickly. AI implementation is booming across the industry, but only a third of operators have realized clear, measurable financial returns.
01
New regulations are creating transformational pricing pressures.
02
AI and strategic M&A are top priorities, but execution gaps are widening.
03
Operational performance, not just bold bets, will determine winners.
04
Investors and advisors are more bullish than operators.
The path to delivering margin recovery
There is structural distress looming across the healthcare, biotech and pharma industries and many companies are unprepared. Readiness is vital.
AI and other levers such as supply chain optimization and operating model redesign can help—and operators should be serious about taking these actions now.
About our survey
AlixPartners conducted an online survey of 200 respondents in March 2026. The respondent base was evenly split between decision makers in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, with representation across three key stakeholder groups: operators, investors and advisors.
Within operators, respondents included senior decision-makers at health systems, hospitals and clinical networks, as well as those at pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. Investors included private equity professionals (including fund managers and LPs) and investment bankers, while advisors included senior consultants, corporate finance advisors, accountants and law firm partners focused on healthcare and life sciences.
Respondent demographic
⬤ 50% Operators
C-suite/Executive leader/Director/SVP/VP/General counsel
⬤ 30% Investors
Private equity – Limited partner/General partner; Investment banker acting in investment capacity
⬤ 20% Advisors
Consultant/Corporate finance advisor/Investment banker acting in advisory capacity/Strategic advisor/External legal advisor
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Our Healthcare & Life Sciences practice
We help you to power growth and improve people’s lives. Our team of experienced consultants come from the healthcare, life sciences and tech industries, and work to optimize companies through growth, cost reduction, PMI and global transformation.
