INDEPENDENT HEALTHCARE ADVISORY
Former BCG. Former health system executive. Still doing the work.
Executive advisory | Project-based consulting | Embedded workstream leadership
Start a Conversation
What I Do
Three areas where I have both consulting depth and direct operating accountability.
Value-Based Care and Payer Economics
Risk arrangements, contracting, network design, and physician compensation. Held enterprise accountability for 255K lives and $2.3B in medical expense at a $4B system, and managed relationships with six payers across 16 contracts spanning capitation, shared savings, bundled payments, and quality incentive programs, plus managed care contracting and network integrity.
Enterprise Strategy and Transformation
Strategic planning, operating model redesign, governance, and board-level decision support. Led three workstreams in a $300M+ cost transformation that moved a $4B health system from roughly $1M in daily losses to break-even. Directed a 100+ person population health and EHR transformation covering care management, analytics, claims integration, and AI decision support. Led the shareholder vote to acquire the remaining provider ownership in a jointly held physician network, then served as founding chair of the Policy and Design Committees that converted it into a clinically integrated network.
Medicare and Medicaid Strategy
Program design, policy analysis, and the operational implications of federal and state requirements. Advised six federal agencies and four state health departments on Medicare and Medicaid policy, program design, and delivery system transformation.
Selected Engagements
Recent work through Towers Advisory. Clients are anonymized.
State Medicaid Agency
Advising executive leadership of a state Medicaid agency on a five-year, $7.5B federal demonstration waiver extension. Drafted the Governor’s transmittal letter to the Secretary of HHS, built the program management function from the ground up, and led the synthesis and public response to more than 190 stakeholder comments that shaped the final application.
Academic Medical Center
Built the market entry strategy and five-year roadmap for a new treatment modality, sizing a roughly $60M annual revenue opportunity and framing partnership options.
Health Data and Analytics Company
Serving as external spokesperson and thought leadership lead, authoring industry white papers and moderating panel webinars to strengthen market positioning and pipeline.
Digital Health Startup
Advising the founder on company strategy, go-to-market positioning, and investor readiness.
Insights
Selected writing, interviews, and speaking.
From losing millions to breaking even: Rochester Regional’s cost transformation
Feature interview with Becker’s Healthcare on a $300M+ cost transformation and the value-based care workstream within it.
Conversation on value-based care strategy and operations inside a $4B integrated delivery system.
Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtables
Panelist at two Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtables on cost transformation and value-based care.
About
Chris Ragsdale
Founder & Principal
Chris has spent his career across every side of healthcare: providers, payers, government, and management consulting. Most recently he was Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Value-Based Care at Rochester Regional Health, a $4B integrated health system, where he led enterprise initiatives across value-based care, payer-provider strategy, population health, operations, and AI-enabled transformation, including programs covering more than 250K lives and billions of dollars in healthcare spend.
Before that he was a Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group, advising health systems, health plans, and government agencies on strategy, transformation, and operational improvement, with earlier leadership roles at Optum and PwC. He earned his MBA in Health Care Management from The Wharton School and his BS in Environmental Studies with a minor in Public Health from Davidson College. Over his career he has worked with six integrated delivery systems, three health plans, three healthcare data and technology companies, six federal agencies including CMS, and four state health departments.
Outside of work, Chris is active in the LGBTQ+ community and spends as much time as he can with his family in Florida and North Carolina.
Betina Gomes
OPERATIONS
Betina manages client operations and scheduling for Towers Advisory. She brings more than ten years of experience supporting executives and running day-to-day operations across finance, legal services, real estate, and hospitality, including time at The Ritz-Carlton.
On the name
Towers was my brother’s middle name. This practice was formed in memory of him: his work ethic, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his joy and love of life. Charlie worked in Jacksonville real estate with our father and our grandfather, and like me, he built something of his own, a boarding and grooming business called Dogs Rule. He also helped many of our family members navigate the complex healthcare system. Both of those are in this practice: working for yourself, and being the person who actually does the work.
CONTACT
Let’s work together.
For consulting engagements, partnerships, or other inquiries, get in touch.