Allina Health’s Doug Watson on Building a Financially Sustainable Health System Amid Medicaid Cuts

As a young auditor working on a hospital project, Doug Watson had a powerful realization: the work felt more meaningful than anything he’d done for Fortune 500 clients. That moment pulled him into healthcare—and he’s stayed ever since, navigating decades of change and complexity.

Now, as CFO of Allina Health, Doug is facing some of his toughest challenges yet: sweeping Medicaid cuts, widening affordability gaps, and growing financial pressure on hospitals. In this episode, he shares how Allina is working to meet patients where they are and lower the cost of care, his perspective on the latest policy shifts, and what it will take to navigate the tough financial realities ahead.

Watch the full episode

Conversation highlights

Meeting patients where they are

Doug calls on health systems to do better—delivering care at an affordable cost point, in the right setting, at the right time, in a patient-friendly way.

Unpacking the Medicaid cuts

Beyond coverage loss, Doug discusses the downstream impact on patients and the balancing act providers must navigate to deliver sustainable care.

Preventing coverage gaps

Extending Allina’s commitment to accessible care, Doug sees an opportunity to support patients through more complex Medicaid eligibility requirements.

Ben Kraus is Director, Content Marketing at Cedar