Join us for another episode of Digital Health Heavyweights hosted by Norm Volsky, where we sit down with Dr. Aaron Friedkin, Co-Founder of Manifest, to discuss a different approach to solving one of healthcare's biggest challenges: making high-quality care more affordable without tearing down the systems already in place.

Drawing from his background in computer science, radiology, and healthcare leadership, Aaron shares the story behind Manifest and the philosophy guiding its approach to healthcare transformation. Rather than pursuing disruption for disruption's sake, Manifest is focused on what Aaron describes as "evolution, not revolution," finding ways for employers, providers, and health plans to work within the existing healthcare ecosystem while creating better outcomes for everyone involved.

The conversation explores how independent provider collaboration, smarter steerage, and thoughtful benefit design can help employers guide members toward high-quality, cost-effective care without requiring entirely new carrier relationships or contracts. Aaron also discusses the structural forces driving healthcare costs and why aligning incentives across providers, payers, and employers may be one of the most important opportunities for meaningful change.

From the Manifest Provider Collective and employer-sponsored benefits to technology, healthcare infrastructure, and the future of the company, this conversation offers a practical look at how collaboration can create a more affordable and effective healthcare system.

"We focus on evolution, not revolution."

In this episode, you'll uncover:

🏥 Why solving healthcare's biggest challenges requires collaboration across the ecosystem
💡 How meaningful healthcare innovation can come from improving existing systems rather than replacing them
📊 How smarter provider steerage can help employers connect members with high-quality, cost-effective care
🤝 Why independent providers can play an important role in improving healthcare affordability and access
🧠 How Aaron's background in medicine and computer science influences his approach to solving complex healthcare problems
📈 How benefit design can encourage higher-value healthcare decisions
🚀 Where technology can reduce friction and improve efficiency without adding more complexity
🔮 Why better aligned incentives could be essential to creating sustainable change across healthcare

About Dr. Aaron Friedkin:

Dr. Aaron Friedkin is Co-Founder of Manifest, a healthcare company focused on bringing employers, providers, and health plans together to improve healthcare affordability and access. With a background spanning computer science, radiology, and healthcare leadership, Aaron brings both a clinical and systems-level perspective to addressing healthcare's most complex challenges.

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Join us for another episode of Digital Health Heavyweights hosted by Norm Volsky, where we sit down with Jonathan Bush, Founder and CEO of Zus Health, and Ada Glover, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, to discuss what it will take to build a more connected healthcare system and why better data infrastructure may be the foundation for healthcare’s next wave of innovation.

In this episode, Jonathan reflects on lessons learned from building athenahealth and how those experiences helped shape the vision behind Zus Health. Ada shares her perspective on building healthcare products and creating infrastructure that makes patient data more accessible, actionable, and useful at the point of care.

The conversation explores one of healthcare’s persistent challenges: there is no shortage of data, yet getting complete, timely information into the hands of the people who need it remains incredibly difficult. Jonathan and Ada discuss why real-time data matters, how shared infrastructure can help healthcare organizations work together more effectively, and what becomes possible when builders can spend less time solving the same underlying data problems.

They also explore the growing role of AI in healthcare and why its potential depends heavily on the quality, connectivity, and accessibility of the information behind it. From healthcare entrepreneurship and product development to interoperability and the future of digital health, this conversation looks beneath the applications we see every day at the infrastructure needed to power what comes next.

In this episode, you'll uncover:
🏗️ Why modern healthcare innovation requires better underlying data infrastructure
🔗 How fragmented information continues to limit care delivery and technology development
⚡ Why timely, complete patient data can enable better clinical decision-making
🤖 How connected, trusted data can unlock more meaningful applications of AI in healthcare
💡 Why healthcare technology should reduce complexity for clinicians and builders rather than create more of it
🚀 How shared infrastructure can give healthcare innovators a stronger foundation to build upon
🤝 Why interoperability and collaboration remain essential to creating a more connected healthcare ecosystem
📊 The difference between having more healthcare data and having data that can actually drive action

About Jonathan Bush & Ada Glover:
Jonathan Bush is the Founder and CEO of Zus Health and previously co-founded athenahealth. His experience building and scaling healthcare technology companies has given him a unique perspective on the infrastructure, incentives, and technology needed to move healthcare forward.
Ada Glover is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Zus Health, where she helps lead the development of products and infrastructure designed to make healthcare data more connected, accessible, and actionable.

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In this episode of Digital Health Heavyweights, Norm Volsky sits down with Ty Wang, CEO and Co-founder of Angle Health, to discuss how modern technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping employer-sponsored healthcare. Together, they explore why healthcare must move beyond legacy systems, how first-principles thinking can unlock meaningful innovation, and what it takes to build a health plan designed for today's employers and employees.

Ty shares how growing up in an immigrant family where healthcare access and literacy presented significant challenges inspired him to simplify one of the most complex industries in the world. He also reflects on how his experience serving in various foreign and domestic posts with the U.S. government and leading major deployments at Palantir Technologies influenced his systems-based approach to solving healthcare's biggest challenges.

From AI-powered care navigation and healthcare infrastructure to transparency, affordability, and the future of employer health benefits, this conversation offers valuable insights into how technology can create a more connected, predictable, and accessible healthcare experience.

"Healthcare systems should be designed from first principles rather than built upon legacy infrastructure."

In this episode, you'll learn about:

🏥 Why healthcare needs to be redesigned from the ground up
🤖 How AI is improving care navigation and the member experience
📊 The role of transparency and predictability in employer-sponsored healthcare
💡 Why better infrastructure leads to better healthcare outcomes
🚀 How Angle Health is modernizing health benefits for small and medium-sized businesses

Ty Wang is the CEO and Co-founder of Angle Health, an AI-native healthcare benefits platform focused on delivering modern, transparent, and affordable health plans for small and medium-sized businesses. Before founding Angle Health, Ty served in various foreign and domestic posts with the U.S. government and led major deployments at Palantir Technologies, experiences that shaped his systems-thinking approach to healthcare innovation.

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Join us for another episode of Digital Health Heavyweights hosted by Norm Volsky, where we sit down with Dr. Nicholas Syhler and Laust Axelsen, co-founders of Embla, to discuss how personalized obesity care is transforming the future of healthcare.

In this episode, Nicholas and Laust share the founding story behind Embla and explain why obesity should be treated as a chronic disease rather than a lifestyle issue. By combining medical expertise, behavioral coaching, and GLP-1 medications, Embla is helping patients achieve sustainable health outcomes through a personalized, digital-first approach to care.

The conversation explores the growing role of GLP-1 therapies in healthcare, why individualized treatment plans are essential for long-term success, and how employers can better support employee health while managing rising healthcare costs. Nicholas and Laust also discuss the importance of behavior change, measuring clinical and financial outcomes, and what the future of chronic disease management looks like in an increasingly digital healthcare landscape.

"The future of obesity care isn't just about medication—it's about delivering personalized care that creates lasting behavior change and better health outcomes."

Nicholas and Laust share several key principles employers and healthcare leaders should consider when evaluating obesity care and digital health solutions:

- Personalized Obesity Care
- GLP-1 Medication Management
- Behavioral Coaching and Long-Term Health Outcomes
- Digital-First Healthcare Delivery
- Employer Benefits and Healthcare Cost Management
- Chronic Disease Management Strategies
- Clinical Outcomes and ROI Measurement
- The Future of Personalized Healthcare

Dr. Nicholas Syhler and Laust Axelsen are the co-founders of Embla, a digital health company dedicated to improving obesity care through personalized treatment plans that combine medical expertise, technology, and behavior change support.

💊 GLP-1 Therapies: Why personalized dosing and clinical guidance are critical to achieving sustainable outcomes.

🩺 Chronic Disease Management: Why obesity should be treated as a chronic condition rather than a lifestyle issue.

📱 Digital Health Innovation: How digital-first care models are making personalized healthcare more accessible and scalable.

📈 Employer Healthcare Strategy: How employers can support healthier populations while better managing rising GLP-1 costs.

🚀 The Future of Healthcare: How personalized medicine, behavioral coaching, and technology are reshaping chronic disease management.

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Join us for another episode of Digital Health Heavyweights hosted by Norm Volsky, where we sit down with Yusuf Sherwani, CEO and co-founder of Pelago, to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming behavioral healthcare through personalized, value based care models.

In this episode, Yusuf shares how Pelago is helping employers improve access to substance use treatment and mental healthcare while delivering measurable clinical and financial outcomes. From addiction recovery and behavioral health to AI powered care navigation and value based healthcare, this conversation explores how technology can improve both affordability and accessibility in one of healthcare's most underserved areas.

The discussion also highlights why measuring ROI remains one of the most important drivers of healthcare innovation. Yusuf explains how employers can leverage data driven behavioral health solutions to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and better support their populations through scalable digital care models.

"ROI is the ultimate test of value."

Yusuf shares his perspective on the technologies and strategies shaping the future of behavioral healthcare:

Artificial Intelligence in Mental Healthcare
Addiction Recovery and Substance Use Care
Value Based Behavioral Health Models
AI Powered Care Navigation and Escalation
Employer Sponsored Behavioral Health Solutions
Healthcare ROI and Cost Reduction Strategies
Data Driven Member Engagement
Personalized Mental Health Support
Improving Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability
The Future of Digital Health Innovation

Yusuf Sherwani is the CEO and co-founder of Pelago, where he is helping employers improve access to evidence based behavioral healthcare through technology enabled, value based care solutions focused on substance use management and mental health outcomes.

🧠 Artificial Intelligence: How AI is improving access to behavioral healthcare while supporting better clinical outcomes.

📊 Healthcare ROI: Why measuring value is critical for driving meaningful healthcare innovation.

💡 Behavioral Health: How employers can rethink the delivery and funding of mental health and substance use care.

🤖 AI Powered Care Models: How technology is helping personalize treatment and increase member engagement.

🚀 The Future of Healthcare: Why scalable, data driven behavioral healthcare may be one of healthcare's biggest opportunities.

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Mark Cuban Co Founder of Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs Company PBC pulls back the curtain on the trillion-dollar healthcare scam and reveals the revolutionary strategies employers can use to cut costs and regain control. 

If you’re tired of seeing your benefits bleed out through opaque contracts, hidden fees, and inflated prices, this episode is your wake-up call. Cuban shares how he’s using direct contracting, transparency tools, and AI-powered insights to break free from industry deception—and how you can too.

This isn’t just another health podcast; it’s a blueprint for change. Discover how to audit insurance and PBM contracts with simple tools that can save millions. Learn why self-insuring can deliver more value and how to leverage cost-plus models for drugs, diagnostics, and surgeries. Cuban breaks down the hidden tricks PBMs and insurers use to inflate prices—then offers practical, battle-tested tactics to outsmart them. Whether you're an HR leader, CFO, or benefits manager, these actionable insights will empower you to drive transparency, eliminate hidden costs, and put employers back in the driver’s seat.

You’ll see how large organizations are carving out direct agreements with hospitals, renegotiating pharmacy prices, and harnessing technology to reveal the true cost of care—saving employees thousands, boosting profits, and fundamentally transforming healthcare economics. The stakes are high: continued industry secrecy risks bankrupting both companies and workers, but armed with Cuban’s blueprint, you can turn the tide.

This episode is perfect for any employer or benefits leader determined to slash healthcare costs and lead industry change. If you’re ready to challenge the status quo and unlock the power of transparency—listen now and start fighting back. You have more leverage than you realize; it’s time to use it.

Mark Cuban is billionaire investor, entrepreneur, and outspoken advocate for healthcare reform, known for disrupting industries and championing transparency and innovation

Learn more about Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs PBC - https://www.costplusdrugs.com/

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Welcome to this very exciting special edition episode of the Digital Health Heavyweights podcast. This week we are FINALLY coming out of STEALTH MODE and announcing the launch of our startup Simplify Health! 

In this episode, Andy Chan, CEO and co-founder of Simplify Health, shares his journey from healthcare innovator to startup founder. Discover how his early experiences, industry insights, and vision for digital health are shaping the future of accessible, data-driven healthcare solutions. Learn about how he built Vigilant Technologies and sold it to Sword Health. “Risk is in my DNA.” Andy wants to make it easier for employees and their families to find the right care, and employers to see what benefits are actually working. “We want to be the easy button for healthcare.”

Our host Norm Volsky spent over a decade working with incredible unicorn founders and helping them scale, until it dawned on him. If these founders can’t get above a 3–5% engagement ceiling it is not a ‘them’ issue, it is an infrastructure issue. The whole system is too fragmented, confusing, and disconnected. He described Simplify as the “plumbing” and “infrastructure” that should help direct people to the right care at the right time and make the ecosystem work together better, with the handy help of AI. "AI should be used for personalization, not replacement."

What is Simplify Health? Everyone else helps people navigate once they already know what they need. Simplify Health helps them understand first. Powered by Benefits IQ, our engine that meets employees and their families at the moment of confusion, grounded in real clinical knowledge, their actual plan, the broader benefits ecosystem, and guides them to the right next step (including the $0 and lower-cost paths they'd never find alone). 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 (𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭): Get your plans answers, not internet guesses, and a guide to the right solution for the moment. 
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 (𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬): Your team gets real-time analytics, vendor oversight, and insights to double down on working initiatives and expand to new opportunities. Each makes the other smarter.

Let’s Simplify health together! Check out Simplifyhealth.ai to learn more!! 

Key Moments:
🚀 The Startup Journey in Digital Health – Building, scaling, and navigating the challenges of launching a healthcare company. 
🤖 AI, Data, and the Future of Healthcare – How artificial intelligence and data are transforming care delivery, decision-making, and patient outcomes. 
🤝 Building a Stronger Healthcare Ecosystem – Why collaboration among startups, employers, providers, payers, and investors is essential to driving innovation. 
📚 Improving Healthcare Engagement and Literacy – Tackling the barriers that prevent people from understanding, accessing, and using healthcare effectively. 
🔮 The Future of Employer-Sponsored Healthcare – A vision for how digital health, personalized benefits, and technology will reshape the employee healthcare experience.


Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Simplify Health
01:42 Andy Chan's Journey into Healthcare
04:51 The Birth of Vigilant Technologies
07:34 Navigating Early Challenges and Corporate Partnerships
12:07 Growth and Acquisition by Sword Health
14:48 Lessons from Hypergrowth at Sword Health
16:16 Transitioning to New Ventures
21:16 The Vision Behind Simplify Health
28:02 The Motivation to Start Again
32:20 Vision and Goals in Healthcare
35:53 The Future of Healthcare Accessibility
39:05 Empowering Employers and Employees
41:40 The Role of Digital Health
47:15 Collaboration in the Healthcare Ecosystem
51:10 AI in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges
56:27 Outro

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Join us for another episode of Digital Health Heavyweights hosted by Norm Volsky, where we sit down with Rohan D'Souza, CEO of Avante, to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming employer sponsored healthcare through better data, greater transparency, and smarter decision making.

In this episode, Rohan shares how fragmented healthcare data has created significant challenges for employers, brokers, and benefits leaders, and why AI has the potential to bridge those gaps with actionable insights. From improving healthcare visibility and reducing unnecessary spending to modernizing benefits management, this conversation explores how intelligent technology is helping organizations make better decisions while improving employee outcomes.

The discussion also highlights why AI should enhance human expertise rather than replace it. Rohan explains how employers can move beyond information overload by leveraging data driven insights that create more personalized benefits strategies, stronger vendor partnerships, and better healthcare experiences for employees around the world.

"AI is only as valuable as the actions it helps you take."

Rohan shares his perspective on the technologies and strategies shaping the future of employer healthcare:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Healthcare Data Transparency
• Employer Benefits Strategy
• Healthcare Cost Management
• Vendor Performance Insights
• Benefits Decision Support
• Healthcare Analytics
• Personalized Employee Benefits
• Broker and Consultant Innovation
• Data Driven Healthcare

Rohan D'Souza is the CEO of Avante, where he is helping employers, brokers, and benefits leaders harness artificial intelligence to improve healthcare decision making, increase transparency, and optimize employee benefits.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence: How AI is transforming healthcare benefits through actionable insights rather than information overload.

📊 Data Transparency: Why better visibility into healthcare spending is the foundation for smarter benefits decisions.

💡 Employer Strategy: How organizations can leverage AI to improve outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.

🤝 Benefits Innovation: Why AI should empower consultants and benefits leaders instead of replacing human expertise.

🚀 The Future of Healthcare: How intelligent technology is reshaping employer sponsored healthcare and employee benefits.

Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations with the innovators shaping the future of digital health!

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Join us for another amazing episode of Digital Health Heavyweights for those passionate about transforming healthcare!

What does it take to build one of healthcare's most influential technology companies and what lessons can today's founders learn from that journey? Dr. Pete Alperin, physician, entrepreneur, early employee of Doximity, and cofounder of DxAngels, shares his unique perspective on scaling healthcare startups, investing in digital health, and why understanding healthcare incentives is the foundation of meaningful innovation.

In this episode, Dr. Alperin reflects on his transition from practicing medicine to helping grow Doximity into one of healthcare's most recognized technology platforms before becoming an active investor in the next generation of digital health companies. We explore the rapid evolution of telehealth, what founders consistently get right and wrong, the importance of building exceptional teams, and how physician workflows remain one of healthcare's greatest opportunities for innovation. Pete also shares his outlook on artificial intelligence, explaining why AI should empower physicians rather than replace them and how thoughtful implementation can improve decision making across the healthcare ecosystem.

If you're a founder, investor, clinician, or healthcare innovator, this conversation offers valuable lessons on building companies that create lasting impact, not just impressive technology.

You'll uncover:

🩺 Why understanding healthcare incentives is essential for startup success

🚀 Lessons from helping scale Doximity during the early days of digital health
💡 What separates successful healthcare startups from those that struggle to gain traction
👨‍⚕️ Why AI will augment physicians through decision support rather than replace them
📱 How telehealth adoption accelerated during COVID 19 and reshaped healthcare delivery
🤝 The importance of building strong teams and company culture
📊 Why improving physician workflows remains one of digital health's greatest opportunities
💰 What investors look for when evaluating early stage healthcare founders
🌍 Where digital health and AI are headed over the next decade
📈 Practical leadership lessons from navigating medicine, entrepreneurship, and venture investing

Dr. Pete Alperin is a physician, entrepreneur, early employee of Doximity, and cofounder of DxAngels. Through his experience building healthcare technology companies and investing in early stage startups, he continues to help shape the future of digital health by supporting founders solving healthcare's biggest challenges.

We had a great time chatting with Pete and hope you follow along, like, comment, and subscribe!

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Discover how Wisp is redefining women's healthcare through digital innovation, expanding access to care, and breaking down barriers surrounding stigmatized health conditions. Join Norm Volsky as he interviews Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp, on scaling one of the fastest-growing women's health platforms in the country and why the future of healthcare depends on accessibility, personalization, and patient empowerment. "Women's health remains one of the biggest opportunities for innovation in healthcare."

In this episode, you'll learn:

👩‍⚕️ How Wisp grew into one of the leading digital health platforms serving women's healthcare
📈 The strategies that helped Wisp scale to more than 1.8 million patients
💻 Why digital health is democratizing access to care for women across the country
💡 How product innovation continues to drive growth and category expansion
🩺 The importance of addressing stigmatized health conditions through accessible care
🚀 How strong branding and consumer trust contribute to healthcare company growth
🌍 Why women's health represents one of the largest opportunities in healthcare innovation
📊 The role marketing plays in educating patients and driving engagement
🤝 How technology can improve convenience, accessibility, and patient outcomes
🔮 Monica's vision for the future of women's healthcare and digital health innovation

Wisp is a leading digital health platform focused on expanding access to women's healthcare through convenient, technology-enabled solutions. Under Monica's leadership, the company has grown to serve more than 1.8 million patients while helping redefine how women access and experience care.

We had a great time chatting with Monica and hope you follow along, like, comment, and subscribe!

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