Spring 2022 Buffalo Business 11
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to fund the devel-
opment of its vaccine through phase 2 clinical testing.
Today, health care entrepreneurship is booming, driven
by this desire to help, as well as an industry-wide shi toward
preventing illness and away from the traditional fee-for-ser-
vice models that reward providers for the number of patients
they see.
The COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated the adop-
tion of new digital health technologies, setting an all-time
high venture funding record of $14.7 billion in the first half
of 2021—and surpassing the 2020 total in just six months,
according to Forbes.
Around the world and across the industry, School of
Management alumni like Somogyi are leading health care
entrepreneurship—from recent graduates founding fresh
startups, to serial entrepreneurs who have revolutionized
the industry, to thought leaders in higher education.
Rethinking both sides
In the U.S., the Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Innovation was established by Congress in 2010 to
develop and test new health care payment and service
delivery models. The center has been a key driver of
entrepreneurship on the delivery side of the U.S. health
care system, according to Larry Zielinski, executive in
residence for health care administration in the School of
Management.
"The systematic move toward paying to keep people
healthy is the big trend in health care reimbursement,
and it seems like it's the only thing that both political
parties can agree on," says Zielinski. "Every administra-
tion since 2010 has continued to put more emphasis on this
issue through the CMS Innovation Center."
Zielinski
