Health:Further

Vic and Marcus recap insights from the Health Evolution Summit, focusing on high-value networking versus weak conference content, then break down major economic and policy developments including Kevin Warsh’s expected appointment as Fed Chair, the end of the investigation into Jerome Powell, and shifts in Fed governance. They cover venture activity across AI healthcare, biotech resurgence, and crowded revenue cycle startups, alongside new accelerators backed by Anne Wojcicki. Policy wins include FDA gene therapy breakthroughs, marijuana reclassification, and faster CMS coverage pathways. The episode dives into payer performance with improved MLR trends, ongoing health system struggles, and biotech deal momentum led by Eli Lilly. They explore AI’s growing role in healthcare, including dementia care and OpenAI launching clinical tools, while also unpacking infrastructure pressures from data center demand, chip innovation, and inference growth. The episode closes with geopolitical tensions in AI, highlighting Nvidia vs China debates, the rise of DeepSeek, and rapid advancements in robotics performance. 

Links
Story 1: Kevin Warsh - Fed
5:12 -  Warsh Pledges Independence at Fed Hearing WSJ
6:11 - DOJ drops investigation into Fed’s Powell Roll Call
Story 2:  VC 
8:36 - Amperos Health secures $16M in series A funding, unveils AI-native denial management solution Fierce Healthcare
9:37 - Tortugas comes out of its shell with $106M to fund 4 phase 2-stage neuro drugs licensed from Asia Fierce Healthcare
11:59 - Courier Health scores $50M to scale CRM technology Mobi Heath
12:53 - Ethermed: $8.5 Million Series A Brings Total Funding To $15 Million+ To Scale AI Prior Authorization Platform Pulse 2.0 
13:19 - Esther and Anne Wojcicki back new healthcare accelerator, fund TechCrunch
Story 3:  1st Gene Therapy
14:54 - FDA Approves First-Ever Gene Therapy to Restore Hearing WSJ
Story 4:  Marijuana reclassified
16:51 - Trump Administration Reclassifies Marijuana as Less Dangerous Drug WSJ
Story 5:  RAPID
18:44 - CMS and FDA announce RAPID Medicare coverage for breakthrough medical devices Healthcae Finance
Story 6: Payor Financial Reports
20:43 - UnitedHealth Shows Signs of Turnaround With Strong Quarterly Results WSJ
21:58 - Molina controls costs in Q1 but future Medicaid spending in doubt Healthcare Dive 
22:33 - Elevance perks up in 2026 though Medicare Advantage payout could ding profits Healthcare Dive
Story 7: CHS Reports Loss
23:11 - Flagging first-quarter volumes dragged CHS’ earnings Healthcare Dive
Story 8: Pharma Rundown
23:58 - Boston Scientific Net Grows Sharply WSJ
24:56 - Two Drugs Stir Hope for Treatment of Deadly Pancreatic Cancer NYT
25:41 - After Lilly’s $7B Kelonia deal, are there any in vivo CAR-T biotechs left to buy? Fierce Healthcare
Story 9: Pharma Rundown
26:58 - New York Sues Coinbase, Gemini Over Crypto Exchanges’ Prediction Markets WSJ
Story 10: AI for Dementia
32:03 - For Dementia Patients, AI Can Be a Good, Non-Judgmental Listener WSJ
Story 11: OpenAI
33:44 - OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Clinicians, a free AI tool for physicians, NPs and pharmacists Fierce Healthcare
37:03 - OpenAI's GPT-5.5 is here, and it's no potato: narrowly beats Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview on Terminal-Bench 2.0 Venture Beat
Story 12: Datacenters and Infrence
39:17 - Oracle’s Deluge of AI Debt Pushes Wall Street to the Limit WSJ
43:38 - Intel Shares Jump 20% as AI Agents Drive Big Growth WSJ
44:22 - Google Introduces Specialized Chip for New Wave of AI Computing WSJ
47:06 - Dwarkesh Podcast w/ Jensen - YouTube
51:54 - Deepseek on X - X
Story 13: Robot Marathon
56:05 - Chinese Robot Beats Human Best Time in Half-Marathon, After a Stumble WSJ

What is Health:Further?

Every week, healthcare VCs and Jumpstart Health Investors co-founders Vic Gatto and Marcus Whitney review and unpack the happenings in US Healthcare, finance, technology and policy. With a firm belief that our healthcare system is doomed without entrepreneurship, they work through the mud to find the jewels, highlight headwinds and tailwinds, and bring on the smartest guests to fill in the gaps.