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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Vic and Marcus starting with Marcus’ firsthand insights from Saudi Arabia, exploring its rapid modernization, healthcare overhaul, and economic transformation. They shift to the evolving landscape of venture capital, questioning AI healthcare valuations and the shift away from Delaware for corporate registrations. The conversation delves into private equity’s changing dynamics, U.S. healthcare policy shifts, and the financial struggles of major institutions like Mass General Brigham and CHS. They discuss AI’s growing role in healthcare and tech, including Meta’s push into humanoid robotics and the mixed reality of AI-powered agents. Wrapping up, they analyze regulatory changes, workforce shifts in federal agencies and healthcare, and how the evolving political and economic environment is reshaping industries across the board.

Links:

12:34 - Fed Minutes Reveal Little Appetite for Near-Term Rate Cuts WSJ

13:21 - AI health-care startup OpenEvidence raises funding from Sequoia at $1 billion valuation CNBC

15:10 - Frontera Health gets $32M for autism therapy tools Axios

17:38 - Posterity collects $13M Series A for male fertility Axios

18:13 - Millie secures $12M to expand its maternity care platform Mobi Health

18:36 - Ex-Redesign Health director debuts Terrarium incubator Axios

19:21 - Leaving Delaware Blog

23:30 - The New Survival Guide for Private Equity: Go Big or Get Back to Basics WSJ

28:04 - HHS is losing thousands of workers under Trump administration probationary job cuts AP News

30:53 - FTC chair endorses Trump's ability to fire commissioners Axios

33:00 - Musk Cost-Cutting Effort Is Being Guided by Health Entrepreneur NYT

49:02 - Humana's CenterWell unit plans further expansion in 2025 Fierce Healthcare

49:59 - UnitedHealth Group offers buyouts to eligible employees Fierce Healthcare

51:04 - CommonSpirit Health logs $135M Q2 operating gain on higher volumes, checked labor spend Fierce Healthcare

52:11 - Mass General Brigham opens FY25 with $54M operating loss; expects layoffs to save over $200M annually Fierce Healthcare

53:07 - CHS’ losses widen in 2024 Healthcare Dive

55:13 - NYU Langone hospital nurses give strike notice Beckers

55:51 - A look under the hood at Risant Health’s value-based platform Fierce Healthcare

58:16 - MultiPlan unveils rebrand as it shifts focus to data assets, tech for providers, payers and employers Fierce Healthcare

59:01 - Lumeris unveils AI tech for primary care Fierce Healthcare Fierce Healthcare 

59:48 - Corti AI adds UpToDate integration to its foundation model Fierce Healthcare

1:00:38 - Mark Zuckerberg Bets Big That Real Humans Want Humanoid Rob

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In this episode of Health Further, hosts Vic sit down with Seema Verma, EVP and General Manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences. They discuss the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, focusing on how automation can alleviate administrative burdens and enhance clinical decision-making. Seema shares insights on Oracle’s efforts to modernize electronic health records (EHR), improve interoperability, and integrate AI-driven solutions to streamline workflows for providers and empower patients with better access to their health data. The conversation also covers cybersecurity in healthcare, the future of clinical trials, and how Oracle aims to bridge the gap between clinical care and research. Finally, they explore how Oracle’s technology can help restore joy to medical professionals by reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies and allowing them to focus on patient care.

Connect with Seema Verma

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-verma-384b3a5/

Website - https://www.oracle.com/health/

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In this episode of Health Further, guest host Paul Kappelman joins Vic to discuss the latest in healthcare policy, economics, and innovation. They break down the latest inflation data and its impact on healthcare, analyze major VC investments in longevity and nutrition startups, and examine policy changes affecting hospitals, physicians, and payers. The conversation covers the challenges of rural hospitals, Medicare Advantage reforms, and potential cuts to NIH research funding. They also explore Tenet Healthcare’s financial strategy, the growing issue of hospital bad debt, and Humana’s push for operational efficiency. The episode wraps with discussions on AI’s role in healthcare, Elon Musk’s bid for OpenAI, and concerns over the risks of open-source AI models.

Links:

2:41 - Inflation Heated Up in January, Freezing the Fed WSJ

5:54 -  Prenuvo adds new health tests to flagship full-body scan, raises $120 million in fresh funding CNBC

8:47 - Startups Fay and Berry Street each bank $50M with growing investor appetite for personalized nutrition Fierce Healthcare

10:26 - Senate confirms RFK Jr. as head of HHS in 52-48 vote Fierce Healthcare

14:12 - Healthcare lobbying 2025: Here are the top policy issues for hospitals, payers, docs and tech Fierce Healthcare

24:57 - DOGE’s First Round of Cuts Went to Trump Priorities, but Bigger Targets Await WSJ

28:20 - Tenet Healthcare CEO touts portfolio transformation, policy change bulwarks on Q4 earnings call Fierce Healthcare

32:12 - Nearly half of rural hospitals in the red, 432 vulnerable to closure, report finds Fierce Healthcare

36:51 - Hospital bad debt is getting worse Beckers

39:31 - Humana putting focus on operational efficiency amid MA headwinds Fierce Healthcare

40:31 - Cigna To link executive pay to customer satisfaction

42:27 - Novartis to Buy Anthos Therapeutics From Blackstone for Up to $3.1 Billion WSJ

42:53 - Novartis Superbowl Ad Youtube

44:07 - For the Sick and Dying, Live Music to Ease the Pain NYT

46:13 - Elon Musk-Led Group Makes $97.4 Billion Bid for Control of OpenAI WSJ

47:17 - Vance Warns U.S. Allies to Keep AI Regulation Light WSJ

48:46 - DeepSeek Offers Bioweapon, Self-Harm Information WSJ

50:38 - Thomson Reuters Wins First Major AI Copyright Case in the US Wired

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In this episode, Vic and Marcus speak with Sheila Philcil, a social change futurist and health equity expert, about the challenges and inefficiencies in healthcare innovation. Sheila shares her journey from aspiring doctor to public health leader, influenced by her firsthand experiences in Haiti and with her grandmother's cancer treatment. She discusses the systemic flaws in the U.S. healthcare model, the impact of innovation that ignores real patient needs, and her work at Boston Medical Center in health equity. The conversation delves into the disconnect between technology and patient experience, the failure of many healthcare startups, and the need for patient-centered innovation. Sheila introduces her startup, Phicil-itate Change, and its AI- and blockchain-powered platform, Compass Project, which seeks to revolutionize health tech by ensuring innovations are built around real patient stories and needs.

Phicil-itate Change, LLC - https://phicil-itatechange.com/

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