Samantha Walter
Business Development Partner, Bio + Health at a16z
Contributing Editor at EHR Source
LinkedIn ProfileAbout
Samantha Walter is a Business Development Partner on the Bio + Health team at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where she works with healthcare IT and digital health portfolio companies on go-to-market strategy, partnership development, and growth.
Before joining a16z, Samantha built and operated a Direct Contracting Entity (DCE) focused on value-based primary care, giving her firsthand experience with risk-based payment models, quality measurement, and the operational infrastructure required to succeed under total cost of care contracts.
Earlier in her career, she served as VP of Network Operations at Quartet Health, where she built payer and provider networks for behavioral health referral coordination. Before that, she led payer strategy and network development at Elevance Health (Carelon), working on the insurance side of prior authorization, claims adjudication, and value-based contract design. She began her career in revenue cycle consulting at Huron Consulting Group, advising health systems on RCM operations, process improvement, and technology implementation.
At EHR Source, Samantha draws on this unusual combination of provider-side, payer-side, technology, and investor perspectives to write about revenue cycle strategy, AI and automation in RCM, payer-provider dynamics, value-based care economics, and the emerging technology stack transforming healthcare financial operations.
Credentials
- Business Development Partner, a16z Bio + Health
- Former VP Network Operations, Quartet Health
- Former Payer Strategy, Elevance Health (Carelon)
- Former RCM Consulting, Huron Consulting Group
- Built and operated a Direct Contracting Entity (DCE)
Expertise
Articles by Samantha Walter
AI and Automation in Revenue Cycle Management: What's Real, What's Hype, and Where to Invest (2026)
A venture capital insider's assessment of AI in RCM: which technologies deliver ROI today, what's still vaporware, and where to place bets for 2026-2028.
Prior Authorization Reform and Automation: The 2026 Landscape
How CMS-0057-F, state gold-carding laws, and AI automation are reshaping prior authorization — with strategies from both the payer and provider side.
Value-Based Care Revenue Models: How VBC Changes the Revenue Cycle (2026)
How value-based care fundamentally reshapes revenue cycle operations — from fee-for-service billing to shared savings, bundles, and capitation, with first-hand lessons from building a Direct Contracting Entity.
The Modern RCM Technology Stack: Build, Buy, and Integration Decisions (2026)
A six-layer framework for evaluating and assembling the modern revenue cycle technology stack — from core billing to AI-powered analytics.
Payer-Provider Revenue Cycle Dynamics: Understanding Both Sides (2026)
An insider perspective on how payers actually process claims, why denials happen, and how providers can build more effective payer relationships.
RCM Staffing Crisis and the Case for Automation (2026)
The RCM labor shortage is structural, not cyclical. Where automation replaces humans first, where humans remain essential, and how to build a workforce transition roadmap.
Scaling RCM Across Multi-Site and PE-Backed Healthcare Organizations (2026)
How PE-backed platforms and multi-site provider groups build scalable RCM operations — centralization frameworks, 100-day integration playbooks, and KPI governance.
Healthcare M&A Revenue Cycle Due Diligence: What Investors and Operators Miss (2026)
A venture capital insider's guide to RCM due diligence in healthcare acquisitions — the 30 questions, red flags, and valuation frameworks that separate good deals from bad ones.
RCM Compliance and Audit Readiness: Avoiding False Claims Act and OIG Risk (2026)
How payers and the OIG select audit targets, what triggers False Claims Act liability, and how to build a compliance program that finds problems before regulators do.
Revenue Integrity and Underpayment Recovery: Finding the Money You're Already Owed (2026)
How payers structure payment rules, where underpayments systematically occur, and how to build a revenue integrity program that recovers millions in lost revenue.
Medicaid Revenue Cycle Management: Navigating State Complexity and Managed Care (2026)
How Medicaid managed care organizations process claims, set authorization rules, and design payment policies — with state-by-state complexity guides and denial prevention strategies.
Advanced Denial Management: Root Cause Analysis, Prevention, and Appeal Optimization (2026)
A payer insider's guide to denial management: how payers design denial logic, what documentation changes decisions on appeal, and how to build a prevention-first program.
RCM Data Analytics and Business Intelligence: From Dashboards to Decision-Making (2026)
How to build an RCM analytics program that actually drives action — data architecture, the 25 metrics that matter, predictive models, and the technology stack behind top-performing revenue cycles.
RCM Outsourcing Contracts: Negotiation, SLAs, and Performance Guarantees (2026)
How PE-backed RCM vendors structure contracts, what terms protect you, and how to negotiate SLAs, penalties, and exit clauses that actually work.