10 to watch in 2016

A lot is at stake for healthcare leaders

in the race to succeed America’s first African-American president. Should Republicans win the White House and maintain control of Congress, the Affordable Care Act—the foundation for healthcare policy over the past six years—will undoubtedly undergo major changes in 2017.

Yet there is still a lot of work to be done in the nation’s capital before primary season is over and legislators turn their focus to getting re-elected. Those issues drove our decisions on which people to watch in 2016.

Among highlightedthe 10in this people special section are two who are relatively new to their jobs. They sit atop organizations that are among the most influential players in Washington. The courts, as always, will have a lot to say about the future of the industry and we’ve highlighted two of the key judges.

Big insurance mergers, the evolution of the nation’s delivery systems, the direction of drug and device regulation—these are some of the more important issues we’ll be covering this year.

Read on to learn about the key players in those arenas and more.