Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 2026 AMGA Annual Conference. It is an honor to gather with such a distinguished group of healthcare leaders, innovators, and professionals dedicated to improving the lives of patients.

Look around this room. Everyone here made the same choice: to lead healthcare organizations dedicated to delivering integrated care for patients in a coordinated way that improves quality, patient experience, and cost of care. All while embracing change and delivering care at scale.

I lived this for 20 years at Sharp Rees-Stealy, and I've seen the commitment to this model of care from AMGA members firsthand. In the last year, I've visited members across the country—large health systems, independent groups, groups in urban and rural settings. And I want to tell you: What you are doing is extraordinary. I came away from every single visit inspired by what I witnessed.

That inspiration came from visits like these:

I was at Henry Ford Health for their jubilee celebration and to present the AMGA Acclaim Award. Department after department showed what they'd built: cutting-edge medicine, always in service of the patient in front of them. The science and the humanity wedded to improve care. That's hard to sustain. They've sustained it.

I was at HealthPartners in Minneapolis when their community was under considerable stress—the kind that doesn't stay outside the hospital and clinic doors. I watched their CEO stand in front of her team, calmly ask hard questions, and really listen. Not just manage the moment, but lead through it. She was in it with her people.

And on the Jersey Shore, we presented the Bridge Award to AtlantiCare for their work on improving COVID health equity, narrowing racial and ethnic disparities in a vulnerable community that couldn't afford for those disparities to persist. They didn't just write a report. They closed a gap.

Each of you in this room has similar stories. They reflect values that unite us, draw us together here, and are at the foundation of AMGA.

We know that our shared principles are challenged every day, in many ways. I know what you're up against—no need to recite the long list. The administrative burden of contemporary healthcare alone would have broken organizations that weren't built the way yours are. You haven't let the broken system stop you from doing your best work. And you're inspiring us at AMGA every day to do our best work for you. I'll share more on that tomorrow.

You may have recognized my walk-on music this morning, "Higher Ground." It resonated with me not only because it was a jolt of energy, but mostly because it's a description of what you're doing every day. It's hard work to rise above the challenges and not just keep on "doing," but doing it better, and for the right reasons. And AMGA is committed to doing the same alongside you.

Thank you again, Joe and IKS, for your outstanding support.

Following is an excerpt from AMGA President and CEO Dr. Jerry Penso's remarks at the AMGA 2026 Annual Conference, April 18, 2026, in Las Vegas, NV.

Yesterday I told you why I'm so inspired by our members' resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges. Today I want to tell you what AMGA is doing to help you. Because recognizing what you're up against isn't enough. We showed up for you. We're still showing up. And we're not done.

AMGA is on the offense: Every one of our efforts represents a decision to invest in you—in your capacity to care for patients, to innovate, to lead.

• Based on our strategic plan, we're investing in new membership programs and amplifying our advocacy efforts.
• Our membership is growing because our message is resonating. Organizations are choosing AMGA because they know integrated, coordinated care is the future.
• Our annual conference registration this year is the highest since before COVID. This room is proof of the momentum we're building.
• The Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill will be devastating to our members and the patients they serve. We've documented it, we've said so loudly, and we're fighting to reverse them.
• When AMGA members move together, the impact is extraordinary. Our Rise to Immunize® campaign is proof: Nearly 35 million adult vaccines administered, exceeding our goal a year ahead of plan.

AMGA is moving—with intention, with investment, and with all of you. You can see that commitment most clearly in our advocacy work. This is where we fight hardest for you. Because we know that you can build the best care model in the country, but poorly crafted policy will get in the way of success.

Here's what we're doing:

• Our March letter to HHS on AMGA priorities arrived with a blueprint, not a complaint.
• It carried three asks that came directly from the organizations in this room: Cut administrative waste, promote innovation, and reform the Medicare payment model—because sustainable, predictable payment isn't a luxury; it's the foundation everything else is built on.
• Our MACRA and Value-Based Care Task Force took two years of work by practicing physician executives and delivered concrete solutions to Congress. We know how to deliver care. We know what gets in the way.
• Prior authorization reform, telehealth permanency, eliminating the SNF three-day rule, and a conversion factor fix are all asks we're pursuing for you.

When AMGA walks into HHS or an office on Capitol Hill, we're not representing an association. We're fighting for the organizations in this room. We go in with solutions built from your real-world experience—not think-tank proposals, not theoretical frameworks. Your work. Your evidence. Your patients' outcomes. That's what makes the case. And that's why we keep going back and why we get invited back.

The policy case we make in Washington is credible because of what you're building inside your organizations every single day. You're not waiting to move ahead. And we're not waiting either. Our 2025–2027 strategic plan is in motion: strengthening our value to our members, amplifying our advocacy impact, and building a sustainable financial model—not for the association's sake, but so we can keep doing this work on your behalf, for as long as it takes.

Stevie Wonder wrote "Higher Ground" as a song about reincarnation—the belief that you come back stronger, more enlightened, with a chance to do better. The Chili Peppers made it a song about urgency and energy. I think it's both, and I think it describes every person in this room.

You didn't come here to maintain. You came here to improve your organizations, your patients' lives, this industry. That's what makes AMGA members different. We took higher ground together. And we're going higher still.