In this month's Digital Health Download, Steve, Halle, and Michael take a deliberately optimistic look at key headlines in healthcare technology. From the impressive impact of AI scribing tools on physician satisfaction to encouraging survival rates among digital health unicorns from the ZIRP-era, the hosts highlights bright spots in an often challenging industry.

We cover:

🏆 Rock Health's 10th annual Consumer Adoption Survey revealing how each generation uniquely engages with digital health

🤖 How AI-powered ambient scribing is transforming physician documentation and reducing burnout

👩‍⚕️ The concerning trust gap between younger generations and healthcare providers

💊 The effectiveness but not yet cost-effectiveness of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic

💼 New analysis showing 89% of digital health unicorns from the pandemic era are still operating

🏛️ Potential opportunities for innovation within the current administration's healthcare policies

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Show notes:

• Rock Health's Consumer Adoption Report
• JAMA article: Lifetime Health Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Tirzepatide and Semaglutide in US Adults
• Halle's article: What Happened to the Digital Health Unicorns of 2020-2022?
• JAMA article: Clinician Experiences With Ambient Scribe Technology to Assist With Documentation Burden and Efficiency

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Venture capital in healthcare has evolved from "the trailer park of venture investing" to a fundamental core tenant of the ecosystem, reflecting a quarter-century transformation of the entire industry.

In this episode, we sit down with Mohamad Makhzoumi, co-CEO of NEA, who shares his 25-year journey from unpaid intern to leader of one of the largest healthcare investment funds, offering his insights into the evolution of healthcare startups and VC.

We cover: 

💼 His trajectory from carrying a partner's briefcase to co-CEO, and what it takes to break into venture capital today 

🎭 Healthcare's distinct "eras" - from HMO revolution to digital health booms and regulatory cycles 

🏥 Why healthcare venture capital follows different rules and timelines than traditional tech investing 

💰 The challenges of timing exits in healthcare, and the regrets that come with leaving promising companies too early 

🚀 How NEA has moved beyond traditional investing to incubating healthcare companies 

🔄 The cyclical nature of healthcare regulation and its impact on investment strategies 

🔮 Where digital health stands today – "transitioning from one party to another"

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About our guest:

Mohamad Makhzoumi first joined NEA in 2000 and now serves as co-CEO of the firm. He was previously NEA’s co-president, prior to which Mohamad served as managing general partner, healthcare, where he led and oversaw NEA’s global healthcare investing practice across digital health and life sciences. Mohamad’s investment practice is focused on healthcare services and technology from early venture to late-stage growth, and he has helped many entrepreneurs build and scale transformative companies. Outside of NEA, he is a board member of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health at Stanford.

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One in four Americans relies on Medicaid, yet the program faces billions in federal funding cuts.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rajaie Batniji, co-founder and CEO of Waymark, about delivering tech-enabled community care to Medicaid patients.

We discuss what cuts to Medicaid could mean, the impact of "value veneers", and how predictive algorithms can overcome bias in healthcare delivery. Dr. Batniji also shares his personal connection to healthcare equity and his motivation for serving vulnerable populations despite investor skepticism about Medicaid-focused businesses.

We cover:

🏥 How to address the unique needs of Medicaid patients

💰 The potential impact of proposed $880 billion Medicaid cuts and why they may not generate real savings

🔄 The failures of Medicaid work requirements and why eligibility cuts won't reduce actual healthcare 

📊 What "value veneers" are, and how they are harmful to healthcare innovation

🌍 Advice for founders looking to serve the Medicaid population

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About our guest:

Dr. Rajaie Batniji is a physician, entrepreneur, and advocate for improving healthcare delivery. He is the co-founder and CEO of Waymark, a company providing tech-enabled community care for people on Medicaid. Previously, he co-founded Collective Health where he served as Chief Health Officer for eight years. He was also a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University in Medicine where he trained in internal medicine.

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Show notes:

• Supporting Rising-Risk Medicaid Patients Through Early Intervention (NEJM Catalyst)
• Geographic Variations and Facility Determinants of Acute Care Utilization and Spending for ACSCs (AJMC)
• Procedural Prescription Denials and Risk of Acute Care Utilization and Spending Among Medicaid Patients (JAMA Open)
• Value Veneers And How To Enable Value In Medicaid Care Delivery (Health Affairs)
• A Social ACO For Medicaid Managed Care (Health Affairs)
• The Public's View on Potential Changes to Medicaid (KFF)

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In 2020, telemedicine company Teladoc acquired remote patient monitoring company Livongo for a record $18.5 billion, creating a $38 billion entity. Today, the combined company is worth less than a tenth of that.

Rebecca Mitchell, who spent years as a product leader at both companies, reveals how this landmark healthcare deal fell short of expectations despite strong underlying products, and what we can learn from it.

We also get her insights on the need for physician innovators, and how she came to co-found Scrub Capital.

We cover:

💻 The rise of physicians in product management roles at digital health companies

💰 The untold "body and internal organs" story of the Livongo-Teladoc merger

🩺 How incorporating clinician expertise leads to better healthcare products

💼 Scrub Capital's approach to leveraging 700+ clinicians for smarter healthcare investing

🤝 Why healthcare innovators should support rather than criticize each other

🏆 Critical lessons for future healthcare M&A

About our guest:

Rebecca Mitchell began her career in global health as an academic researcher and Fulbright Fellow in maternal health. After receiving her medical degree from UCSF, she served as the medical officer for innovation at HHS before spending a decade in product roles at startups, including Livongo and Teladoc. Rebecca now leads Scrub Capital, an early-stage fund that incorporates the expertise of over 700 clinicians, founders, and operators to invest in healthcare companies.

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Startup capital accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator has a long history of backing healthcare startups, with a particular focus on technical founders tackling difficult problems. In this episode, YC partners Jared Friedman and Ankit Gupta share their insights on healthcare investment, the transformative potential of AI, and why they believe young, tactical founders will continue to disrupt the healthcare industry despite its challenges.

We cover:

🏥 YC's approach to healthcare investing over the years

⚕️ How AI has a 10x faster adoption curve than anything else we've seen

💻 The potential for AI to automate healthcare's administrative burdens and provide universal access to medical knowledge

🌍 The opportunity to bring primary care to billions who currently lack access

🔄 Why an outsider's perspective can be valuable when rebuilding healthcare systems

🚫 How patient privacy regulations might be hindering healthcare innovation

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About our guests:

Jared Friedman is Managing Director, Software and Group Partner at YC. He was co-founder of Scribd, which was funded by Y Combinator in 2006 and grew to be one of the top 100 sites on the web. Jared previously worked at a pioneering AI company and studied computer science at Harvard.

Ankit Gupta is a Visiting Partner at Y Combinator and former Co-Founder and CTO of Reverie Labs, a small molecule therapeutics company that leverages machine learning to develop oncology treatments. Ankit led the team through its acquisition by Ginkgo Bioworks in February 2024. Ankit studied computer science at Harvard.

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🙏 Thanks to Flexpa for sponsoring this episode. Flexpa is refactoring healthcare. Connect to 300+ health plans through a single, secure integration to access patient-consented, identified claims data instantly.

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In this monthly healthcare news roundup, Halle and Steve break down the biggest healthcare headlines this month.

We cover:

🏥 How a $5/month medication subscription service is improving adherence and saving patients money

🧠 How microplastic levels in our brains have increased 50% in just eight years

⚕️ The viral beef between a surgeon and UnitedHealthcare

💉 Louisiana's decision to stop promoting vaccination and the politicization of public health messaging

🏛️ The impact of DOGE cuts on key health agencies

📈 Hims & Hers' Super Bowl ad criticizing the healthcare system

💊 Updates on GLP-1 medication access and pricing as compounding ends

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Show notes:

• PlasticList.org

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From law school to leading one of healthcare's most successful value-based care companies, Oak Street Health co-founder Mike Pykos shares the story of building, scaling, and ultimately selling his company to CVS for $11 billion.

He reveals the challenges of scaling a new care model, the importance of focusing on outcomes over financials, and what it takes to transform American healthcare.

We cover:

🏥 Why Oak Street intentionally designed an "unprofitable" care model

👥 The critical role of co-founders and finding the right cultural fit

📈 Taking the company public during COVID and navigating the markets

💰 The decision to sell to CVS and letting go of control

⚕️ The state of value-based care and why innovation has slowed

🔄 Lessons learned from scaling from startup to Fortune 500

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About our guest:

Mike is the co-founder of Oak Street Health ®, a leading network of more than 200 primary care centers across 25 states that delivers value-based care to older adults. He served as its chief executive officer from its founding in 2012 through the company's acquisition by CVS Health in 2023.

Prior to founding Oak Street Health he was a Principal for Boston Consulting Group. Mike has a JD from Harvard Law School and a a BS in Biochemistry from University of Notre Dame.

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Full-body MRIs are a controversial and expensive screening tool that some believe could revolutionize early cancer detection, while others worry they create unnecessary anxiety and waste medical resources.

In this episode, we dive deep into this debate with Emi Gal, founder & CEO of Ezra, who is using AI to make full-body MRI screening faster, more accessible, and more accurate.

We cover:

🏥 What are full-body MRI scans, and how they're being used today

💰 The current costs and insurance coverage challenges of preventative MRI screening

🔬 Why medical societies don't currently endorse full-body MRI scans (and if they ever will)

🧬 How full-body MRIs compare to other cancer diagnostics like liquid biopsy

🤖 The role of AI in enhancing image quality and translating medical reports

🔄 The importance of longitudinal monitoring for certain medical findings

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About our guest:

Emi Gal is a software engineer and entrepreneur working at the intersection of AI and healthcare. He's currently the Founder & CEO of Ezra, an AI healthcare company that has created a new way to screen for cancer using a full body MRI powered by AI.

Prior to Ezra, Emi was the Founder & CEO of Brainient, an advertising technology company he started at age 19. Brainient became the largest video ad server in Europe and was acquired by Teads in 2016, where Emi spent two years as CEO of Teads Studio helping grow the company to nearly $1 billion in revenue.

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Show notes:

• Emi's Longevity Protocol
• Interested in trying the full-body scan? Listeners can use the promo code HOH250 for $250 off your scan. Note: Heart of Healthcare is not affiliated with Ezra and receives no compensation for this code.

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From fast food drive-throughs to Netflix autoplay, many of America's favorite products are designed to maximize profits at the expense of our health. But Thomas Goetz, co-founder of Building H, believes there's a better way. In this episode about corporate responsibility and public health, the former WIRED editor explains why changing company behavior may be easier than changing consumer habits – and how a new health accountability index could help transform America.

We cover:

🏗️ Why the structure of modern society makes healthy choices nearly impossible for most Americans

📊 How Building H's new corporate health index is measuring companies' impact on consumer wellbeing

🎮 The surprising companies getting health right, from Pokemon Go to sustainable housing developers

📈 Why health metrics should be included in ESG frameworks and corporate KPIs

🏃‍♀️ The challenge of aligning corporate profits with positive health outcomes

🔄 How small product changes can drive meaningful population health improvements

💡 Why traditional public health approaches need reinvention for today's challenges

🏢 The role of public benefit corporations in building health-first businesses

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About our guest:

Thomas Goetz is a journalist, entrepreneur, and author. He uses data and design and stories to help people understand and navigate complicated issues in their world.

Thomas is the co-founder of Iodine, an award-winning website that has helped millions of people make sense of their health and medicines. In 2016, Iodine was acquired by GoodRx, America’s leading source for prescription drug savings, where he presently serves as chief of research. Thomas was previously the executive editor at WIRED, which he led to a dozen National Magazine Awards in as many years. He began his career as a reporter at the Village Voice and the Wall Street Journal. He also wrote the LaunchPad column for Inc. magazine.

Thomas is co-founder of Building H, a nonprofit with a mission to build health into everyday life. He has written two books, most recently the 2014 bestseller The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis. He served as the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Curator-in-Residence for Adobe Systems. His TED talk on visualizing medical data has been viewed half a million times.

Goetz holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's in American literature from the University of Virginia. He graduated from Bates College, and lives in San Francisco.

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Show notes:

Building H Index

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2025 has started with sobering reminders of healthcare's challenges, while also showcasing technology's potential to save lives. Join us for this week's episode as we analyze recent headlines:

🏥 UnitedHealth's first earnings report since CEO's murder

🔥 How the Watch Duty app is helping Californians navigate devastating wildfires

🏛️ FDA's flurry of new health protection rules

📊 A concerning new report on healthcare consolidation

💰 The compelling economic case for investing in women's health

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Show notes:

📈 UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Earnings Call Transcript

📕 HHS Consolidation in Health Care Markets Report

💃 The WHAM Report on Women's Health

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