TXAACOs 2026
What to Expect at TXAACOs:
5 Things You’ll Actually Be Talking About After the Conference
There are conferences you attend because you feel like you should… and then there are conferences you circle on your calendar because you know something meaningful is going to happen there.
TXAACOs is firmly in the second category.
If you’ve been before, you already know. The conversations are sharper, the people are more open, and the ideas tend to move a little faster from “interesting” to “actionable.” If you haven’t been yet, this is the kind of event where you don’t just sit through sessions. You walk away with new perspectives, new relationships, and usually a few ideas that follow you back into your day-to-day work.
So what should you actually be looking forward to this year?
Here are five things that will make TXAACOs worth your time… and probably have you thinking differently by the time you leave.
1. The Bull Pen: Where Innovation Gets Put to the Test
Every conference talks about innovation. TXAACOs puts it on stage and asks it to prove itself.
The Bull Tank is back, and it is exactly what it sounds like … a Texas-sized spin on Shark Tank where healthcare startups pitch directly to people who understand the realities of accountable care. No fluff. No buzzwords without substance. Just real solutions being evaluated in real time.
This year’s lineup includes Nudj Health, Hibiscus Health, Stability Health, and QurHealth, each with ten minutes to demonstrate how their approach can actually move the needle in ACOs and risk-based environments. Impact, traction, scalability, financial sustainability … it is all on the table.
And then come the questions.
With a panel that includes Daniel Dow, MD, John P. Carter, and Patrick Feeney, moderated by Brian Kern, you can expect thoughtful, direct, and occasionally tough feedback. It is one of the few moments at a conference where you can watch innovation meet reality in real time.
Also, let’s be honest, there is something undeniably fun about seeing bold ideas tested in front of a room full of people who know exactly what works and what does not.
2. Care Management Is Finally Getting the Attention It Deserves
For years, care management has been treated as something that supports value-based care. Important, yes—but often positioned as an add-on rather than a foundation.
That mindset is changing, and you will see it clearly in the session, “Built In, Not Bolted On: The Future of Care Management in ACOs.”
This panel digs into what it actually looks like when care management is embedded into the core of an organization’s operating model. Not layered on after the fact. Not dependent on workarounds. Built in from the start.
Moderated by Pam Audish (BettrAi), with insights from Dan Godla (ThoroughCare), our own VP of Strategy Kelly Hidde (AaNeel) and Matt Lambert, MD (Advantmed), the conversation is grounded in real-world experience. These are not theoretical frameworks. These are leaders actively shaping how care management is evolving across ACOs.
What makes this session particularly valuable is that it moves beyond “why this matters” and into “how this is actually being done.” Technology integration, workflow alignment, sustainability—this is where the conversation gets practical in a way that most organizations are actively trying to figure out right now.
3. The Conversations That Happen Between the Sessions
This is the part you cannot put on an agenda, but it is often the most valuable.
TXAACOs has a way of bringing together people who are not just attending, but actively building, testing, and refining how value-based care works in practice. That changes the dynamic of the room.
You will find yourself in conversations that start casually and quickly turn into something more substantive. Someone shares how they approached a challenge you are currently facing. Someone else offers a perspective you had not considered. Before you know it, you have exchanged ideas that would have taken months to uncover on your own.
And then there is the part people do not always talk about enough—the relationships.
Over time, TXAACOs has become a place where professional connections turn into genuine friendships. There is a level of openness and collaboration that is hard to replicate elsewhere, and it shows up in how people engage with each other. You are not just networking. You are building a community of people who are navigating the same challenges and pushing the same work forward.
4. A Front-Row Seat to Where Value-Based Care Is Actually Going
One of the reasons TXAACOs continues to stand out is that the conversations tend to be a step ahead of where the broader industry dialogue is.
This is not just a place to hear what is happening. It is a place to understand what is coming next and how organizations are preparing for it. Whether it is care model design, technology integration, or evolving payer dynamics, the themes that emerge here tend to show up more broadly in the months that follow.
If you are paying attention, you can start to see patterns. You can connect ideas across sessions. You can begin to understand not just individual trends, but how they fit together.
That kind of insight is difficult to get from a webinar or a white paper. It comes from being in the room, hearing how different organizations are approaching similar challenges, and recognizing where the momentum is building.
5. There Is Still Time to Be Part of It
If you are reading this and thinking, “I should probably be there,” the answer is yes.
TXAACOs continues to make it accessible for ACOs to participate, including offering a free attendee option for ACO organizations. That alone removes one of the biggest barriers to attending and makes it easier to bring the right people from your team into the conversation.
Because that is really what this comes down to. The value of TXAACOs is not just in what you hear. It is in how quickly you can take those insights back and apply them.
Final Thought
There is a reason people come back to TXAACOs year after year.
It is not just the sessions, although those are strong. It is not just the speakers, although they bring real experience. It is the combination of ideas, energy, and relationships that makes the entire experience feel relevant and immediately useful.
If value-based care is part of your world (and for most reading this, it is) this is one of the few places where you can step out of the day-to-day and get a clear view of where things are heading.
And maybe just as importantly, who you want to be building alongside as you get there.
