Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Guest: Ratnakar Lavu, Chief Digital Information Officer, Elevance Health
Host: Scott King
Date: December 21, 2025
Episode Theme: The Role of AI and Digital Transformation in Elevance Health’s Strategy to Simplify Healthcare
Episode Overview
In this episode, Scott King interviews Ratnakar Lavu, CDIO at Elevance Health. The conversation delves into the ways Elevance Health is leveraging technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and data to create more personalized, seamless, and efficient experiences for both members and care providers. Lavu discusses real-world AI applications, their impact, challenges faced, ethical considerations, and the future outlook for digital technology in healthcare.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Ratnakar Lavu’s Background & Elevance Health’s Digital Vision
[01:36 – 02:22]
- Lavu has a strong tech background, especially in the practical use of technology, data, and AI to improve consumer and member experiences.
- Core Focus: Embedding AI at scale (not just as a pilot) to make healthcare more affordable, accessible, and personalized.
- “We're embedding AI responsibly across all our operations, not just as an experiment, but … to make care more affordable, accessible and personalized.” — Ratnakar Lavu [01:55]
2. Key Opportunities in AI and Digital Transformation
[02:41 – 08:36]
A. Simplifying Member Experiences
- AI-driven proactive member engagement: Identifies members with care gaps and proactively reaches out.
- “We do millions of these outreaches today and it's the AI, the data and then the intelligence that we build that enables that…” — Ratnakar Lavu [03:47]
- AI-powered call center support: Agents access correlated clinical, claims, and benefits data to address member issues efficiently.
Post-call AI wrap-ups assess sentiment for ongoing improvement.
B. Provider Support & Administrative Automation
- Real-time AI analysis of prior authorization submissions to speed up care approvals.
- AI assists in identifying and auto-completing missing information in claims to reduce provider admin burden.
- “We want to take away that or simplify that administrative work for them so that they can really take care of our members…” — Ratnakar Lavu [06:36]
C. Empowering Employees with AI
- Over 52,000 associates now use AI productivity tools; rolling out enterprise-wide ChatGPT.
- Initiatives include AI certification programs (in collaboration with OpenAI) to build responsible tech competency.
D. Recap of Priorities
- Personalized, seamless experiences for members
- Empowering care providers
- Simplifying internal workflows
3. Lessons Learned: AI Deployment and Journey Mapping
[08:36 – 10:46]
- Focusing on holistic end-to-end workflows rather than siloed AI application is key to real impact.
- Example: Expanding AI’s role from just prior authorization approval to addressing the entire workflow for real-time solutions.
- “When you think about AI, just don't think about it in a silo of a workflow, think about the entire workflow and reimagine that workflow…” — Ratnakar Lavu [10:27]
4. Looking Ahead: Future Capabilities and Focus Areas
[11:05 – 12:59]
- Virtual Assistant in the Sydney app: Functions like a healthcare ChatGPT, answering benefit questions and connecting members to appropriate providers for high-quality, affordable care.
- “What I'm excited about is creating these personalized and more seamless experiences at scale now. Leveraging AI…” — Ratnakar Lavu [11:44]
- Enhanced payer-provider interoperability.
- Accelerating internal process automation for increased focus on high-value tasks.
Adoption Update
- Adoption and engagement with the virtual assistant are strong, moving members toward self-service and reducing call center demand.
- “For the first time, we made it actually extremely simple for them to understand the benefit…” — Ratnakar Lavu [13:36]
5. Responsible & Ethical AI Implementation
[14:44 – 16:06]
- Elevance Health begins every AI project with responsibility, transparency, and explainability as core principles.
- Dedicated Responsible AI Governance Framework evaluates and monitors every solution from inception through post-production.
- “Every AI solution has to go through that governance framework… and we monitor that once it's in production…” — Ratnakar Lavu [15:10]
6. Measuring the Impact of AI
[16:23 – 18:20]
- Elevance tracks a broad set of KPIs:
- Member self-service rate and satisfaction (NPS).
- Provider satisfaction and reduction in administrative times.
- Employee satisfaction with AI tools.
- All aim to ensure simplification and effectiveness across the ecosystem.
7. The Role of Feedback in Digital Innovation
[18:32 – 19:44]
- Early and continuous member and provider feedback is crucial.
- Solutions are market-tested, and iterative improvements are based on real-world responses.
- “Our teams are really obsessed about member feedback and provider feedback because we want to make sure that we are constantly listening to that feedback…” — Ratnakar Lavu [19:09]
8. Outlook for 2026: The Future of AI in Healthcare
[19:51 – 20:57]
- Greater personalization, seamlessness, and connection for members.
- Simplified provider interoperability and administrative efficiencies.
- Foundation for transformation is built; now it's time to accelerate adoption and innovation.
- “…we believe we can accelerate this transformation 100%.” — Ratnakar Lavu [20:54]
Memorable Quotes
- “We're embedding AI responsibly across all our operations, not just as an experiment, but … to make care more affordable, accessible and personalized.” — Ratnakar Lavu [01:55]
- “We are very focused and obsessed about the member experience, member interactions itself…” — Ratnakar Lavu [04:57]
- “When you think about AI, just don't think about it in a silo of a workflow, think about the entire workflow and reimagine that workflow…” — Ratnakar Lavu [10:27]
- “Our teams are really obsessed about member feedback and provider feedback because we want to make sure that we are constantly listening…” — Ratnakar Lavu [19:09]
- “…we believe we can accelerate this transformation 100%.” — Ratnakar Lavu [20:54]
Important Timestamps
- 01:36 — Ratnakar Lavu’s background and vision at Elevance Health
- 02:41 — Key AI-driven initiatives for members, providers, and associates
- 08:36 — Lessons from AI adoption: focus on journey, not just touchpoints
- 11:05 — Virtual assistant and future focus areas
- 13:22 — Virtual assistant adoption and self-service trends
- 14:44 — Responsible and ethical AI deployment
- 16:23 — How Elevance measures AI’s impact
- 18:32 — Importance of member and provider feedback in digital rollouts
- 19:51 — 2026 outlook: where AI and digital technology are headed
Conclusion
Ratnakar Lavu’s conversation with Becker’s Healthcare highlights Elevance Health’s commitment to harnessing AI at every level — from member engagement and provider support to internal productivity and operational excellence. Their approach is structured around responsible innovation, continuous feedback, and a relentless focus on simplification and personalization, setting the stage for transformative changes in healthcare in 2026 and beyond.