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Artwork for Health Tech Nerds Radio

Health Tech Nerds Radio

Kevin O'Leary, Martin Cech
Medicare Advantage
Medicaid
Artificial Intelligence
Medicare
Value-Based Care
AI In Healthcare
CMS
Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare
Behavioral Health
Lifestance Health
Mental Health
Photon Health
Health Systems
LEAD (CMMI Program)
CARA
Cityblock Health
Access (CMS Program)
Belong Health
ACA
Yuzu

Where we share our weekly news debriefs and discussions with industry experts. These are lo-fi recordings aimed at giving our readers more opportunities to engage with our analysis and a view into some of the conversations that shape it.

PublishesDailyEpisodes91Founded6 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BusinessHealth & Fitness

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Latest Episodes

Kevin and Martin chat about a packed earnings week: Teladoc's BetterHelp cash pay business fell off a cliff in mid-May, Humana passed its 2026 MA stress test but is still terming 600,000 members from low-star plans to hit its 2028 margin target, Cent... more

Kevin and Martin kick off with Q2 payer earnings. Elevance's stock fell 11% despite beating estimates because the company signaled Medicaid market exits without giving Wall Street any sizing to work with, while United warned that the No Surprises Act... more

Bryan Sivak and Sean Glass closed a $24 million first fund for Evidenced. They invest in healthcare companies benefiting from a regulatory or policy tailwind that pushes buyers to act sooner or spend more.Both are repeat entrepreneurs — Sivak sold hi... more

Sam Melamed spent 20 years building Insurance Forums into the largest online community for insurance agents and brokers before becoming CEO of NCD, a top-rated dental, vision, and supplemental benefits administrator, five years ago. He argues fears o... more

Kevin and Martin open by discussing a question that recently surfaced in the Health Tech Nerds Slack community: is employer-sponsored insurance actually crumbling, or just showing its age? They then move into a conversation about Midi's CEO calling o... more

Jeremy Friese spent a decade as a physician at Mayo Clinic navigating prior auth from the provider side. Now he runs Humata Health, which helps large health systems submit better prior auths to every plan in the country. Humata is a participant in CM... more

Kevin and Martin start with a discussion about a crowded week in healthcare AI funding. Prosper AI and Assort Health’s fundraising announcements were released on back-to-back days, with nearly identical customer quotes claiming each was "the only tru... more

JD Friedland is the executive director for ventures at Cleveland Clinic, where he evaluates and deploys emerging health technology across one of the country's largest and most research-intensive health systems. He walks through what Cleveland Clinic ... more

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Recent Guests

Sam Melamed
Chief Insurance Nerd at NCD
NCD
Episode: CMS Bridge forecast, broker fraud, and the ACA numbers everyone's misreading | Sam Melamed (NCD)
Jeremy Friese
Physician and founder discussing prior authorization improvements
Humata Health
Episode: A physician-turned-founder's take on making prior auth actually work | Jeremy Friese (Humata Health)
Jeremy Fries
CEO and Founder of Humata Health
Humata Health
Episode: The Grand Roundup: Agentic voice AI wars, recent funding roundup, Cityblock acquires Homeward, UpDoc's FDA clearance, Humata's WISeR rollout, and more
JD Friedland
Executive Director for Adventures at Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
Episode: The liability gap holding clinical AI back — and who should solve it | JD Friedland (Cleveland Clinic)
John Kao
Chairman and CEO of Alignment Healthcare
Alignment Healthcare
Episode: The Grand Roundup: $12B Matt Holt/Ensemble deal, Hawaii's payvider bet unravels, PwC's highest commercial trend in 18 years, Clover Stars win, clinical AI regulation, and more
Hashem Zikry
Medical director for clinical research and policy at Counsel Health
Counsel Health
Episode: The Grand Roundup: $12B Matt Holt/Ensemble deal, Hawaii's payvider bet unravels, PwC's highest commercial trend in 18 years, Clover Stars win, clinical AI regulation, and more
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel
Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and University Professor at UPenn, healthcare policy expert
University of Pennsylvania
Episode: Why U.S. healthcare doesn't need more money—it needs a different system | Ezekiel Emanuel
Ezekiel Emanuel
Professor and policy expert; author of Eat Your Ice Cream
UPenn, WHO, NIH, CFR
Episode: The Grand Roundup: Finding the optimal amount of healthcare fraud, ACA premium churn, wealthy New Yorkers are buying "med-à-terres", Zeke Emanuel on where healthcare policy reform is headed, and more
Seth Cohen
President at Cedar Health, Financial Experience and Healthcare Payments Platform
Cedar Health
Episode: The Grand Roundup: Finding the optimal amount of healthcare fraud, ACA premium churn, wealthy New Yorkers are buying "med-à-terres", Zeke Emanuel on where healthcare policy reform is headed, and more

Hosts

Kevin
Host of Health Tech Nerds Radio
Martin
Co-host of Health Tech Nerds Radio, engages guests and asks policy questions

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Why CMMI needs simpler models and better measurement | Ankit Patel (Percepta, ex-CMMI)
Q: Ankit, welcome to HTN Radio. Would you start with a quick introduction and tell us a little bit about what you were up to when you were at CMS and what you've been up to in the intervening years?
Patel summarizes his 20-year health care career, notes his start as an attorney for an academic medical center, his move to CMS and CMMI, and his subsequent work in health tech, including a focus on AI models, workflow productivity, and patient outcomes at Percepta.
The Grand Roundup: CMMI's LEAD program and engaging specialists via CARA, MA final rates and benefit cuts, Teladoc's valuation conundrum, AI creating confusion in private markets, and SimpliFed's $10.8M Series A to extend OB care
Q: How is SimpliFed positioning its product in the evolving maternity care landscape?
SimpliFed is moving toward a virtual OB model, supported by an interoperable maternal health OS and payer/provider partnerships to extend insurance-covered prenatal and postpartum care, with a focus on improving access and outcomes while aligning with ACA coverage requirements.
The Grand Roundup: CMMI's LEAD program and engaging specialists via CARA, MA final rates and benefit cuts, Teladoc's valuation conundrum, AI creating confusion in private markets, and SimpliFed's $10.8M Series A to extend OB care
Q: What is the current outlook on MA final rate notices and future policy moves?
The final rate notices appeared roughly in line with GDP growth, with some adjustments anticipated due to risk adjustment changes. The discussion emphasized the balance between cost controls, benefit cuts, and the impact on beneficiaries, suggesting ongoing policy evolution beyond the current year.
The Grand Roundup: CMMI's LEAD program and engaging specialists via CARA, MA final rates and benefit cuts, Teladoc's valuation conundrum, AI creating confusion in private markets, and SimpliFed's $10.8M Series A to extend OB care
Q: What is CARA and how does it affect bundles and specialist engagement in LEAD?
CARA is a voluntary component designed to enable Episode-Based Risk Arrangements with specialists, with CMS acting as an intermediary to support the implementation. It provides a framework to create bundles or predefined episodes, while allowing customization to fit local conditions and promote collaboration between ACOs and specialists.
The Grand Roundup: CMMI's LEAD program and engaging specialists via CARA, MA final rates and benefit cuts, Teladoc's valuation conundrum, AI creating confusion in private markets, and SimpliFed's $10.8M Series A to extend OB care
Q: How might AI-inferred risk affect risk adjustment and the way providers document conditions?
AI-inferred risk could reduce administrative burdens and cherry-picking incentives by deriving diagnoses from utilization rather than purely coded documentation, potentially flattening biases in benchmarks. However, it also raises questions about validation, equity, and how to monitor for unintended consequences.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Health Tech Nerds Radio

What is Health Tech Nerds Radio about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on weekly health tech news and policy-focused conversations with industry leaders, health systems executives, and startups applying technology to care delivery. Episodes frequently tackle AI in medicine, payer-provider dynamics, value-based care, and the economics of modern healthcare, with practical examples from large health systems and innovative vendors. A notable strength is the blend of policy nuance with real-world implementation stories, featuring guests who speak to regulatory shifts, financing, and operational strategies in health tech. This flexibility makes it useful for listeners who want actionable takeaways for product strategy, market access, and strategic partnerships in healthcare technology.

Where can I find podcast stats for Health Tech Nerds Radio?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Health Tech Nerds Radio. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Health Tech Nerds Radio and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Health Tech Nerds Radio get?

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What are the audience demographics for Health Tech Nerds Radio?

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How many subscribers and views does Health Tech Nerds Radio have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Health Tech Nerds Radio has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Health Tech Nerds Radio?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Health Tech Nerds Radio:

1. Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson
2. Tradeoffs
3. Masters of Scale
4. Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
5. The a16z Show

How many episodes of Health Tech Nerds Radio are there?

Health Tech Nerds Radio launched 6 months ago and published 91 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Health Tech Nerds Radio?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Health Tech Nerds Radio?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Health Tech Nerds Radio from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Health Tech Nerds Radio?

Recent guests on Health Tech Nerds Radio include:

1. Sam Melamed
2. Jeremy Friese
3. Jeremy Fries
4. JD Friedland
5. John Kao
6. Hashem Zikry
7. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel
8. Ezekiel Emanuel

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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