In this episode, Marcus and guest host Paul Kappelman discuss the chaotic pace of global and domestic events impacting healthcare leaders, starting with Donald Trump’s energy and policy unpredictability. They analyze the 90-day tariff pause with China and its effect on the markets, the symbolic rollback of chip restrictions involving Nvidia, and the importance of American manufacturing resilience. The conversation shifts to employer healthcare costs, the Transparent-Accolade merger, and the looming economic war with China. They also unpack Jamie Dimon’s letter to shareholders, the controversy over Medicare Advantage overpayments, and the impact of biosimilars and PBM incentives. The episode concludes with reflections on Medicaid supplemental funding, consolidation in the hospital sector, and the ethics of implicit bias pledges in medicine.

5:50 - Nasdaq Soars to Best Day Since 2001 After Trump Pauses Some Tariffs - WSJ

12:46 - Inflation rate eases to 2.4% in March, lower than expected; core at 4-year low - CNBC

16:05 - Trump administration backs off Nvidia's 'H20' chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner - NPR

18:50 - Jamie Dimon’s Annual Letter - JP Morgan

24:08 - Transcarent completes $621M merger with Accolade, eyes further investment in AI technology - Fierce Healthcare

33:23 -  Health Insurer Stocks Soar on Medicare Rate Boost WSJ

35:50 - We Won’t Sign an ‘Implicit Bias’ Pledge WSJ

40:52 - Senate and House Republicans Set to "Kick the Can" on Medicaid Spending Cuts - The 80 Million

48:18 - CareSource acquires Commonwealth Care Alliance for over $400M - Modern Healthcare

49:05 - Medicare Advantage plans reaped $33B extra from 'coding intensity' - Modern Healthcare

52:01 - CVS, Express Scripts, Optum warm up to biosimilars - Modern Healthcare

55:03 - Kaufmann Hall M&A Quarterly Activity Report: Q1 2025 - Kaufmann Hall

59:38 - Say Hello to Your New Colleague, the AI Agent -  WSJ-Op

1:04:29 - Google NEXT 2025 Rundown - TechRadar

1:04:58 - "The opportunity with AI is as big as it gets" - Google CEO Sundar Pichai pledges $75 billion cloud, AI spending spree - TechRadar

1:07:24 - Google unveils new security AI agents to keep your business safe from the latest threats - TechRadar

1:08:43 - AgentSpace - Google

1:11:04 - AI 2027 - AI 2027

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In this episode, Vic and Marcus sit down with Doba Parushev, Managing Partner at Healthworx, to unpack the distinct differences between traditional and corporate venture capital, particularly within healthcare. Doba shares his career journey from engineering to Latin American VC, through McKinsey and Edison Partners, to leading Healthworx at CareFirst. The conversation covers the pros and cons of corporate VCs for startups, the expectations versus realities of these partnerships, how investment strategies are shaped by member needs, and Healthworx’s multi-pronged investment approach including its ventures, accelerator, studio, and LP programs. They also explore systemic inefficiencies in U.S. healthcare, the value of tech-enabled services, and how Healthworx balances financial returns with strategic impact. Doba closes with hard-won advice for both startups and enterprises considering corporate venture capital.

Doba Parushev - https://www.linkedin.com/in/parushev/

Healthworx Website - https://www.healthworx.com/

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In this episode, Vic and Marcus focus on the sweeping economic impact of the new “Liberation Day” tariffs, including market reaction, healthcare supply chain disruptions, inflationary concerns, and implications for startups and venture capital. They discuss shrinking margins in healthcare, funding shifts in tech and AI, layoffs at major institutions like Vanderbilt and UnitedHealth, the Circle IPO in the crypto space, and how the AI therapy chatbot study may reshape mental health treatment. The episode concludes with commentary on cyber threats, stablecoins, and the rapid policy changes reshaping Washington and Wall Street.

15:15 - Trump Tariffs Aim to Bring Down Curtain on Era of Globalization WSJ

11:23 - Trump Tariffs Send Dow to 1600-Point Decline, Dollar Slumps WSJ

12:09 - U.S. Stocks Post Worst Quarter Since 2022 on Threat of Trade War WSJ

12:57 - Senate budget blueprint empowers GOP chair to decide if Trump tax cuts add to deficit The Hill

16:08 - Senate Pencils In $5 Trillion for Tax Relief, Leaves Blank Spaces for Spending Cuts WSJ

1:16 - Consumer Sentiment Hits Lowest Since 2022 as Anxiety Rises Over Inflation and Jobs WSJ

17:41 - CoreWeave Stock Ends Flat on First Day of Trading After Scaled-Back IPO WSJ

19:08 - CoreWeave shares rip nearly 42% higher, rising above IPO price CNBC

23:16 - Venteur Raises $20M To Help Employers Administer ICHRAs MedCity News

29:00 - Notable Systems snags $12M Series B Axios

31:12 - RapidClaims corrals $11M for claim denial prevention Axios

31:20 - Post-CoreWeave, Venture Investors Rethink Their Outlook on IPOs WSJ

31:47 - Stablecoin issuer Circle files for IPO as public markets open to crypto CNBC

38:20 - The M&A Boom Wall Street Wanted Is Here, if You Know Where to Look WSJ

39:12 - 2024 VC Fund Performance Carta

42:13 - Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos White House

45:51 - Health Department Begins Sweeping Job Cuts WSJ

47:06 - Vanderbilt University Medical Center braces for $250M budget cut Axios

48:34 - Trump Media to Debut on New York Stock Exchange Texas Newswire

49:32 - North Korean IT worker army expands operations in Europe Bleeping Computer

51:44 - Health insurers slash thousands of jobs, more cuts ahead Modern Healthcare

53:14 - Who Should Pay for Ozempic Is the Next Big Workplace Fight WSJ

55:13 - Oracle Health breach compromises patient data at US hospitals Bleeping Computer

58:09 - FTC’s Case Against Drug Managers on Hold After Commissioners Fired WSJ

1:01:00 - Trump’s T

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In this episode, Marcus and Vic discuss the nonstop barrage of breaking political and economic news, starting with NCAA March Madness brackets and how NIL and the transfer portal have reshaped college sports. They cover February's unexpected 4.2% rise in home sales, Trump's proposed 25% car tariffs, and broader conversations on globalization, economic nationalism, and JD Vance’s key arguments at the American Dynamism conference. The hosts analyze implications of U.S. trade strategies, April's looming tariff escalations, and domestic reinvestment from companies like Johnson & Johnson. They also examine Silicon Valley’s shifting stance on Trump, tightening export controls on China, Delaware’s legal changes to compete with Texas for incorporations, and major AI-driven VC funding rounds including Navaa and Arlo. Further topics include Medicaid waste, bioethics of embryo research, China’s controversial gene-editing comeback, GLP-1 access restrictions, centralized hospital command centers, 23andMe’s bankruptcy, and the neurological impact of retirement. They close by exploring biofeedback’s role in elite performance and the future of work amid rapid technological change.

4:43 - Home Sales Rose 4.2% in February, Beating Expectations WSJ

5:40 - Trump Announces 25% Tariffs on Imported Cars and Car Parts NYT 

19:57 - What to know about the April 2 tariff day Axios

21:39 - Johnson & Johnson to Invest Over $55 Billion in U.S. in Next Four Years WSJ

22:46 - Trump Takes Tough Approach to Choking Off China’s Access to U.S. Tech WSJ

27:32 - Delaware Punches Back at Texas Efforts to Lure Away Companies WSJ

30:06 - Navina lands $55M from Goldman Sachs Modern Healthcare

32:05 - Silna Health gets $27M for insurance automation Axios

33:46 - Startup insurer Arlo raises $4M on back of AI-powered underwriting Fierce Healthcare 

34:33 - Healthtech VCs Look to AI for Next Wave of Returns WSJ

34:56 - Two of a Kind: Founder of Snack Company Seeks to Back Next Big Consumer-Health Startup WSJ

36:12 - Andreessen Horowitz Aims to Raise a Smaller Bio Fund WSJ 

37:45 - Duke-Margolis launches council to build health-focused frameworks for private equity Fierce Healthcare

39:38 - RFK Jr. prepares 10,000 more job cuts across HHS, outlines office consolidations Fierce Healthcare

40:29 - RFK on X

41:12 - Taxpayers Spent Billions Covering the Same Medicaid Patients Twice WSJ 

46:36 - How Medicaid and SNAP cuts could affect your state Axios

48:09 -  CDC, DOGE claw back $11 billion in COVID-19 grants nationwide as agency roots out 'censorship' contracts Fierce Healthcare

50:01 - Senate confirms nominees to lead FDA, NIH under RFK Jr. Modern Healthcare 

51:39 - What Do We Owe This Cluster of Cells? NYT

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Vic and Marcus break down how MMA, politics, and media are increasingly intertwined, starting with Conor McGregor’s presidential bid and the UFC's political influence. They discuss the Fed’s economic outlook, inflation, tariffs, and consumer sentiment. In healthcare, they cover CMS reforms, Medicare Advantage scrutiny, hospital mergers, FTC shakeups, and major investments in senior care, pathology, and hospital-at-home models. The episode wraps with concerns over proposed HIV funding cuts and the long-overdue reckoning with U.S. deficit spending.

11:09 - Fed Dims Economic Outlook, Citing Uncertainty Over Tariffs WSJ

14:27 - Consumer Sentiment Tanks as Americans Expect More Pain Ahead WSJ

15:13 - Retail Sales Edge Up in February but Miss Expectations WSJ

17:08 - Trump Team Explored Simplified Plan for Reciprocal Tariffs WSJ

18:52 - Nasdaq Plans Second U.S. Headquarters in Texas WSJ

25:32 - Inspiren banks $35M to scale AI-powered senior living technology Fierce Healthcare

26:29 - Proscia pulls in $50M for digital pathology Axios

27:51 - Medalogix, Forcura Merge to Form a $1 Billion Healthcare Software Business WSJ

28:52 - The Israeli Startup That Just Inked the Largest Cybersecurity Deal Ever WSJ

30:18 - GSR Ventures spins out new US branch, Informed Ventures, with tenured partners Fierce Healthcare

31:05 - Dr. Oz describes changes he would bring to Medicare, Medicaid as CMS administrator HFMA

36:05 - Trump administration charts a new course at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation HFMA

36:53 - Startups Prep for Potential Medicaid Cuts WSJ

39:25 - Trump fires 2 Democratic FTC commissioners, Andrew Ferguson defends decision Fierce Healthcare

42:56 - FTC again pushes back on Indiana hospitals' 2nd merger attempt Fierce Healthcare

46:39 - RFK Jr.'s HHS picks up Biden admin legal fight against 340B rebates Fierce Healthcare

48:38 - Trump Administration Weighing Major Cuts to Funding for Domestic HIV Prevention WSJ

53:30 - Cigna closes $3.3B sale of Medicare plans to HCSC Fierce Healthcare

54:06 - Employers Get Big Drug Discounts Through Program For Hospitals That Serve Poor Patients WSJ

55:40 - Highmark posts $29.4B in 2024 revenue amid ongoing rise in utilization Fierce Healthcare

57:06 - Mass General Brigham announces $400M cancer care investment ahead of Dana-Farber split Fierce Healthcare

58:54 - DispatchHealth and Medically Home merge, creating one of nation's largest hospital-at-home providers Fierce Healthcare

1:00:26 - Pfizer Has a New Playbook for Reviving Sales—and It’s Starting to Pay Off WSJ

1:01:42 -

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Vic and Marcus discuss the volatile stock market and its connection to political uncertainty, the shifting media landscape, and the impact of global news narratives. They analyze the latest jobs report, Trump’s trade policies, and their effects on market stability, interest rates, and inflation. The episode covers the future of telehealth, major healthcare funding cuts, and their consequences for hospitals and medical research. They also examine the growing role of AI in medicine, the latest innovations in gene therapy, and China’s rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. The discussion concludes with insights into venture capital struggles, IPO market slowdowns, and the potential collapse of numerous VC firms.

Links:

3:50 -  Democrats Clear Way for GOP Funding Bill, Ending Threat of Government Shutdown WSJ

4:29 - U.S. Added 151,000 Jobs Last Month WSJ

5:24 - An ‘Untradable’ Market: Trump Sows Profound Uncertainty for Stocks NYT

7:56 - CNBC’s interview with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Youtube

16:01 - Inflation Cooled to 2.8% in February, Lower Than Expected WSJ

18:26 - An ‘Untradable’ Market: Trump Sows Profound Uncertainty for Stocks NYT

18:26 - Virtual musculoskeletal care provider Vori Health nabs $53M Fierce Healthcare

19:09 - Motivity gets $27M from Five Elms for ABA software Axios

20:11 - Hinge Health files to go public, signaling potential IPO revival in digital health Fierce Healthcare

20:55 - Venture Investors Hoped for an IPO Recovery in 2025. Now It’s On Hold. WSJ

25:11 - House votes to extend telehealth for 6 months, sends funding bill to Senate Fierce Healthcare

26:51 - CMMI to cut participation in payment models, estimates $750M in savings Fierce Healthcare

27:30 - Provider revenues to drop $80B in 2026 if cuts drive states from Medicaid expansion, analysis find Fierce Healthcare

31:14 - Is Trump Taking a ‘Liquidationist’ Approach to the Economy? WSJ

32:21 - CMS scraps contracts to upgrade online Medicare system and hands over control to DOGE, agency says Fierce Healthcare

34:18 - Why the $2.8B Blue Cross Antitrust Case Won't Die Modern Healthcare

36:27 - The Hologram Doctor Will See You Now WSJ

39:04 - Landmark Holdings of Florida files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Modern Healthcare

39:43 - Prospect Medical’s Pennsylvania hospitals at risk of closure Modern Healthcare

40:39 - Johns Hopkins Plans Staff Layoffs After $800 Million Grant Cuts WSJ

42:30 - Mass General Brigham's 2nd wave of layoffs begins Fierce Healthcare

42:49 - CVS’s New Mini Stores Go All In on Medicine and Skip Everything Else WSJ

43:39 - Breathing ne

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Vic sit down with Dave Lambert of RightSide Capital Management to discuss venture capital trends, SaaS investing, and how the startup landscape is evolving. Dave breaks down RightSide’s data-driven investment approach, focusing on ultra-diversified portfolios and quick decision-making. They explore the impact of AI on capital efficiency, why per-seat SaaS pricing is becoming obsolete, and how macroeconomic factors shape startup success. The conversation also covers shifts in fundraising, the growing role of healthcare SaaS, and why founders must prioritize profitability over endless funding rounds.

• Right Side Capital Website - https://www.rightsidecapital.com/
• Dave’s Email - http://[email protected]

Dave Lambert, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Right Side Capital Bio:

Dave Lambert is a Managing Director and Co-Founder of Right Side Capital. His firm is one of the most active pre-VC stage investment firms in the US and has invested in 2000+ pre-VC stage startups since 2012. 

Right Side Capital is known for using a quantitative, data-driven investment selection process that lets them give firm yes/no decisions to founders in about a week, and for the fact that each of their investments funds invests in many hundreds of startups.

Prior to founding Right Side Capital, Dave was founder and CEO of a computer hardware company in the 1990s, and software company in the 2000s.

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Vic & Marcus dive into the latest economic and business news, starting with the ADP jobs report showing the smallest job gains since July. They analyze the impact of tariffs on U.S. markets, discuss the drop in credit scores among student loan borrowers, and examine a $100 billion investment in U.S. chip manufacturing. The conversation shifts to healthcare with funding updates in pediatric care, ophthalmology, and chronic pain treatment, followed by insights on the growing AI cloud market. They also discuss RFK Jr.'s policy changes on vaccine committees, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s antitrust lawsuit, and opioid settlements for hospitals. The episode rounds out with a deep dive into AI’s rapid expansion in healthcare, humanoid robots performing household tasks, AI-generated human-like voices, and major policy changes impacting SNAP benefits.

1:18 - US Firms Add 77,000 Jobs, Smallest Gain Since July

2:01 - Stocks Sink, Trump Says Tariffs on Some Mexican

5:23 - Steep Drop in Credit Scores Hits Student-Loan Borrowers

6:50 - Trump, Chip Maker TSMC Announce $100 Billion

9:07 - Banks Loan $2 Billion to Build a 100-Acre AI Data

9:48 - Value-based pediatrics practice Bluebird Kids Health clinches $31.5M

11:36 - Lumata Health raises $23M Series B

12:24 - Nervonik Raises $13 Million in Series A Financing to Advance...

12:57 - GEM HEALTH Raises $7M in Series A Funding FinSMES

13:23 - AI cloud provider CoreWeave files for IPO

14:17 - General Catalyst is considering an IPO

15:20 - RFK Jr.’s Health Department Heightens

16:47 - ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.: Measles outbreak

18:52 - In new lawsuits, dozens of health systems opt out of $2.8B Blues...

20:51 - Court approves $700M prescription opioid

23:04 - Wellvana buys CVS Medicare savings unit

24:20 - Headspace inks partnership with US Navy

25:38 - Walgreens Nears Roughly $10 Billion Deal

26:06 - Mayo Clinic unveils $1.9B expansion to Phoenix

27:28 - Novo Nordisk cuts Wegovy prices, following

29:39 - Bayer Warns of Lower Earnings as Turnaround

30:09 - The New Thinking on Concussions in Sports

32:58 - Mystery Disease Linked to Bats Kills Scores in Congo

34:12 - RFK Jr. and His Allies Target Trump’s Beloved Soda

37:12 - AvaSure debuts bedside AI virtual care

38:01 - Google Cloud expands AI-powered

38:43 - Microsoft launches voice-activated AI assistant

39:18 - Baxter debuts voice-activated wearable

39:478

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Vic sat down with Stu Clark, CEO of Premise Health, to discuss how employers and unions are tackling skyrocketing healthcare costs. They break down the direct contracting model, the financial burden of traditional healthcare, and how Premise Health’s advanced primary care approach is reshaping the industry. Stu explains the findings of a Milliman study showing cost savings, the critical role of primary care access, and why employers are bypassing traditional insurance models. They also explore the future of employer-sponsored healthcare, the challenges of provider shortages, and Premise Health’s expansion into alternative health plans.

Study: Premise Health saves employers and unions 30% on total healthcare costs

https://www.premisehealth.com/

Stu Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Premise Health Bio:

Stu Clark has served as CEO of Premise Health since its inception in 2014 and, prior to that, served in various leadership roles in predecessor companies to Premise. He has held executive roles in the direct healthcare industry for more than 20 years. 

Stu and his teams have helped lead the evolution of the direct healthcare industry, also known as employer-sponsored healthcare, from the early days of occupational health-only programs to today’s fully integrated, direct primary care models. This integrated approach connects members and their families to acute and urgent care, family medicine, pharmacy, fitness, and many other primary services, creating value by helping them be healthier. 

Under Stu’s leadership, Premise has focused on clinical quality, scale, infrastructure, and technology, while working to build a transparent culture anchored in accountability and merit-based career advancement. The company is consistently recognized as an employer of choice in communities where it operates employer-sponsored health centers and in the greater Nashville area where it is headquartered. 

Stu is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he received a BA. He is currently a CEO council member and limited partner for Council Capital, a limited partner and advisor for Nashville Capital Network, and a former council board member and executive committee member for the Nashville Health Care Council, where he served for two terms. 

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Vic and Marcus discuss the latest developments in healthcare, policy, and technology, including major VC deals in medical claims automation and AI-driven medical coding, the rise of federated imaging networks, and the implications of a wearable defibrillator maker planning a $150M IPO. They analyze the House-passed GOP budget and its potential impact on Medicaid, as well as the White House’s push for price transparency in healthcare. The hosts cover Medicare Advantage enrollment trends, a proposed exchange for small businesses, and the privatization of Walgreens. Other topics include the end of the Ozempic shortage, Eli Lilly's $27B investment in U.S. manufacturing, AI advancements, cybersecurity risks, and Meta’s $200B AI data center expansion

Links:

3:12 - Camber gets $30M for medical claims automation Axios

4:32 - Charta Health Secures $8.1 Million After Turning Cold Emails Into Profit in Just 60 Days Aim Research

6:45 - Avandra lands $17.5M to build out federated imaging network

7:09 - Wearable defibrillator maker Kestra Medical plots $150M IPO

8:43 - New ‘Dream Exchange’ Aims to List Black-Owned Companies

11:43 - House Passes G.O.P. Budget Teeing Up Enormous Tax and Spending Cuts

12:42 - House budget plan advances, paving way for major Medicaid cuts

14:48 - Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information White House

16:08 - Price transparency enforcement gets a boost as Trump signs executive order HFMA

17:34 - BCBSA report: Addressing hospital, pharma costs could save $1T over next decade Fierce Healthcare

19:06 - Trump Team Weighs Pulling Funds for Moderna Bird Flu Vaccine

20:29 - Telehealth advocates turn up the pressure as Medicare deadline nears Axios

23:21 - Trump memo directs federal agencies, HHS to fire more employees and submit agency reorg plans

25:54 - Medicare Advantage growth slows as UnitedHealthcare nabs members, Humana sheds lives Healthcare Dive

28:09 - Walgreens' Breakup: Inside the Private Equity Takeover That Could Reshape the Pharmacy Giant Yahoo

29:17 - Semaglutide shortage ends as FDA sets deadline for compounders Pharmaceutical Technology

31:33 - Eli Lilly Plans to Spend $27 Billion on New U.S. Plants

34:28 - AstraZeneca’s Breast Cancer Drug Shows Positive Results In Late-Stage Trial

35:02 - Why We Don’t Trust Doctors Like We Used To

39:27 - First Measles Death Reported in Texas Outbreak

41:23 - Organ Transplant System ‘in Chaos’ as Waiting Lists Are Ignored

44:21 - Red Light Therapy Gets the Green Light, Sort Of

45:41 - AI Startup Anthropic Fi

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