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.
Health Tech Nerds Radio
Claim This Podcastby Kevin O'Leary, Martin Cech
5.0(1 reviews)
87 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇺🇸
Podcast Overview
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.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
1/7/2026
1 verified contact email on file for Health Tech Nerds Radio
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Recent Episodes
July 13, 2026
The Grand Roundup: Debating the future of ESI, concierge medicine's $40K price tag, Elevance/SCAN sue over Stars, ACA rate hikes and death spiral fears, and more
<p>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 out a $40K/year concierge menopause practice on LinkedIn and a run of quick hits: Elevance and SCAN joining Clover in suing over Stars ratings, a Wall Street Journal piece flirting with "death spiral" language for the ACA, Alignment Health's accounting troubles, and Pearl Health's $110M raise stacked half on credit.</p><p><br>Then Bryan Sivak and Sean Glass join to break down Evidenced, the venture fund they just launched with a $24 million raise. They explain the fund's core thesis — backing early-stage health tech and tech-enabled services companies where a specific regulatory or policy tailwind accelerates buying — and walk through portfolio examples like IMPaCT Care, the community health worker infrastructure company spun out of UPenn.</p><p>Sam Melamed, CEO of NCD and self-described "Chief Insurance Nerd," closes things out. He walks through NCD's supplemental benefits business, then dives into forecasting enrollment in CMS's new Bridge program, discussing what full-page Eli Lilly ads in the New York Times signal about the money already flowing into that market, and lays out why he thinks standalone dental and vision plans keep gaining ground alongside Medicare Advantage.</p><p><strong>Links referenced</strong></p><p>Out of Pocket, Out of Reach: <a href="https://www.statnews.com/health-insurance-costs-out-of-pocket-out-of-reach-series/">https://www.statnews.com/health-insurance-costs-out-of-pocket-out-of-reach-series/</a></p><p>The Billionaires’ Vagina Club: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/the-billionaires-vagina-club">https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/the-billionaires-vagina-club</a></p><p>ACA rate increases: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/obamacare-insurers-seek-big-rate-hikes-again-8a4bf9e4">https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/obamacare-insurers-seek-big-rate-hikes-again-8a4bf9e4</a></p><p>Sean and Bryan (Evidenced): <a href="mailto:sean@evidenced.com">sean@evidenced.com</a>, <a href="mailto:bryan@evidenced.com">bryan@evidenced.com</a></p><p>Sam Melamed (NCD): <a href="mailto:sam@ncd.com">sam@ncd.com</a></p><p><br>For more from Health Tech Nerds, subscribe to our weekly newsletters: https://www.healthtechnerds.com/subscribe</p>
July 1, 2026
A physician-turned-founder's take on making prior auth actually work | Jeremy Friese (Humata Health)
<p>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 CMMI's WISeR program, handling Oklahoma's fee-for-service Medicare prior auth, and six months in, providers are submitting almost exclusively through Humata's portal. Jeremy's view on fixing prior auth: use AI only to say yes, build real transparency into the rules, and let humans sort out the small fraction that actually requires a fight.</p><p><strong>Links referenced</strong></p><ul><li><strong>CBS article on WISeR rollout in Oklahoma</strong>: <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medicare-ai-program-wiser-prior-authorization-errors-delays/">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medicare-ai-program-wiser-prior-authorization-errors-delays/</a></li><li><strong>Substack on AI usage in prior auth</strong>: <a href="https://spinalcolumn.substack.com/p/the-algorithm-is-denying-your-auth">https://spinalcolumn.substack.com/p/the-algorithm-is-denying-your-auth</a></li><li><strong>Humata Health:</strong> <a href="http://humatahealth.com">humatahealth.com</a></li><li><strong>Jeremy Friese:</strong> <a href="mailto:jeremy@humatahealth.com">jeremy@humatahealth.com</a></li></ul><p>For more from Health Tech Nerds, subscribe to our weekly newsletters: https://www.healthtechnerds.com/subscribe</p>
June 29, 2026
The Grand Roundup: Agentic voice AI wars, recent funding roundup, Cityblock acquires Homeward, UpDoc's FDA clearance, Humata's WISeR rollout, and more
<p>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 true platform." Kevin and Martin work through what that signals about the agentic voice AI space. They also cover Alan's €480M raise at a $6.3B valuation, Trase's $107M seed round, Cadence's RPM-to-chronic-care-management pivot, Hera's CCM play, Upside's Medicaid housing engagement numbers, the Cityblock-Homeward acquisition, and UpDoc's FDA 510K clearance. They close by explaining stop-loss lasering and what it means for insurability when the bag keeps getting passed.</p><p>Then Jeremy Fries, CEO and founder of Humata Health, joins to talk through WISeR — the CMMI prior auth program now live in Oklahoma. Jeremy walks through how the program works (AI says yes instantly; humans adjudicate everything else), what the rollout has actually looked like on the ground, why provider adoption numbers are better than the headlines suggest, and why he thinks prior auth, done right, is one of the few places in healthcare where payers and providers can actually find common ground.</p><p><strong>Links referenced</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Bloomberg article on MyConnections</strong>: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-05/unitedhealth-s-myconnections-houses-the-homeless-through-medicaid">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-05/unitedhealth-s-myconnections-houses-the-homeless-through-medicaid</a></li><li><strong>WSJ article on UpDoc</strong>: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/pro/venture-capital/updocs-ai-gets-fda-nod-to-act-as-concierge-doctor-between-visits-2b7fa41b">https://www.wsj.com/pro/venture-capital/updocs-ai-gets-fda-nod-to-act-as-concierge-doctor-between-visits-2b7fa41b</a></li><li><strong>Marsh McLennan report on lasering</strong>: <a href="https://view.ceros.com/marsh-mma-mid-atlantic/success-stories/p/19">https://view.ceros.com/marsh-mma-mid-atlantic/success-stories/p/19</a></li><li><strong>CBS article on WISeR rollout in Oklahoma</strong>: <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medicare-ai-program-wiser-prior-authorization-errors-delays/">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medicare-ai-program-wiser-prior-authorization-errors-delays/</a></li><li><strong>Substack on AI usage in prior auth</strong>: <a href="https://spinalcolumn.substack.com/p/the-algorithm-is-denying-your-auth">https://spinalcolumn.substack.com/p/the-algorithm-is-denying-your-auth</a></li><li><strong>Humata Health:</strong> <a href="http://humatahealth.com">humatahealth.com</a></li><li><strong>Jeremy Friese:</strong> <a href="mailto:jeremy@humatahealth.com">jeremy@humatahealth.com</a></li></ul><p>For more from Health Tech Nerds, subscribe to our weekly newsletters: https://www.healthtechnerds.com/subscribe</p>
87 total episodes available
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