Health Care Network

HCN Media, LLC
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Health & Fitness

Health Care Network is a live weekly operator debate on the business of healthcare — hosted by Cédric Kovacs-Johnson and Danish Nagda, with industry guests. Live Thursdays 12pm ET on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube; audio episodes on this feed.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Oura’s Ricky Bloomfield, Gyde’s Will Johnson, Parkinson’s Cell Therapy, Blue Cross Sued

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Can a ring become care, and why does America have a million insurance brokers? This week on HCN, Cedric Kovacs-Johnson and Danish Nagda dig into Aspen Neuroscience's IPO filing on stem cell therapy for Parkinson's, Michigan's antitrust suit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and HHS's case against the 340B drug discount program. Dr. Ricky Bloomfield, Chief Medical Officer of Oura, joins to talk about turning a consumer wearable into a tool for care. Will Johnson, CEO & Co-Founder of Gyde, explains why insurance still runs on brokers and how AI could change the way people choose coverage. 00:30 — Bookmarks: The Best Things We Found This Week Cedric and Danish share favorite finds: Top hospital systems opening longevity clinics, the future of AI Agents in healthcare, Apoorva Mehta of InstaCart on medicine as consumer products, and the rise of drug-resistant sexually transmitted diarrhea. 11:46 — Parkinson's IPO: Aspen Neuroscience Files to Go Public The San Diego biotech filed to list on the Nasdaq to fund sasineprocel, a one-time therapy that turns a patient's own skin cells into dopamine-producing neurons. The hosts break down the early trial data and what's riding on the Phase 3 planned for 2027. 17:10 — Blue Cross Sued as a Monopoly Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a federal antitrust suit alleging Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which holds about 65% of the state's market, worked with other Blue plans to keep competitors out. The hosts unpack the "Blue Conspiracy" claims and what they mean for patients and providers. 22:00 — Dr. Ricky Bloomfield: Can a Ring Become Care? Oura's CMO, who previously led the launch of Health Records on iPhone at Apple, discusses how wearable data could move from wellness tracking into clinical care. Cedric and Danish push back and probe. 40:28 — 340B's Billion-Dollar Fight HHS economists argue the 340B drug discount program rewards hospitals for using costlier drugs and buying up practices, backing a proposed Medicare payment cut. The hosts weigh that against hospitals' case that 340B funds safety-net care. 47:15 — Will Johnson: Why Do We Have a Million Brokers? Gyde's co-founder and CEO, who spent a decade at Oscar Health building broker networks, explains why insurance distribution still depends on brokers and how Gyde's AI-native model acquires agencies and automates their admin work. 01:04:40 — Gambling Addiction The gambling addiction is the new opioid crisis, and it's affecting young men more than women for a biological reason Thanks for joining! New HCN episodes drop every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

    Oura’s Ricky Bloomfield, Gyde’s Will Johnson, Parkinson’s Cell Therapy, Blue Cross Sued

  2. Oct 8

    Tanay Tandon on Agents in RCM, Nikhil Krishnan, and Fat Cells That Remember | HCN Ep. 10

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Can fat cells remember obesity, and are systems of agents about to take over healthcare administration? This week on HCN, Cedric Kovacs-Johnson and Danish Nagda dig into a suspected plague scare in Russia, a Nature paper on fat cell memory, and this year's Nobel for optogenetics. Tanay Tandon, CEO of COMMURE, joins to explain how AI agents could reshape revenue cycle and payer fights. Nikhil Krishnan, Founder/Thinkboi at Out-of-Pocket, shares who is building healthcare companies now and why he's optimistic. 00:00 — Bookmarks: The Best Things We Found This Week Cedric and Danish share favorite finds: Bjork on creating for yourself, crypto-style investors piling into AI biotech, a debate over late doctors, and Dave Ricks on placebo-controlled GLP-1 trials. 07:46 — The Plague: Mystery Death at a Russian Anti-Plague Lab A young employee of a Siberian anti-plague institute died after severe pneumonia, with a lab exposure unconfirmed. Danish explains how plague works, how it's treated, and why it's worth watching. 13:59 — Tanay Tandon: Are Systems of Agents Taking Over Healthcare? COMMURE's CEO explains its system of agents, why it targets non-Epic settings, and why he sees AI-versus-AI payer disputes as an arms race that ends in efficiency. Cedric and Danish push back and probe. 30:17 — Fat Epigenetics: Cells That Remember Obesity Danish walks through a Nature paper suggesting fat cells keep epigenetic changes after weight loss, which could make keeping weight off harder, and the hosts discuss childhood obesity and what might reverse it. 38:32 — Nikhil Krishnan: Who's Building the Future of Healthcare? The Out-of-Pocket founder discusses the new founder archetype, why funding rounds are growing, whether AI success is stuck in RCM, financing ideas, a healthcare World's Fair, and his optimism. 57:11 — Nobel Prize: Optogenetics and the Brain as a Circuit Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel win the Nobel for optogenetics. Danish explains the light-switch method and why he sees it as a precise tool for studying the brain, before the hosts close on optimism.

    Tanay Tandon on Agents in RCM, Nikhil Krishnan, and Fat Cells That Remember | HCN Ep. 10

  3. Oct 2

    Oura Delays Its IPO, Did AI Add $1B to Healthcare?Julie Yoo, Tim Wike, Caroline Zhang | HCN Ep. 9

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Can a new generation of health plans actually bend the cost curve—and did AI-assisted coding just add nearly $1 billion to healthcare spending? This week, Oura walks away from a hot IPO despite massive demand, Julie Yoo and Tim Wike debate whether employers are finally ready to abandon the traditional health plan, and Caroline Zhang joins us fresh off Knowtex being named a prime awardee on the VA’s massive new ambient AI contract. 00:00 — Intro & Bookmarks What’s on the docket this week. 13:20 — Oura Ring Postpones IPO Oura delays its IPO despite profitability, 90% growth and a reportedly 4× oversubscribed offering. 19:15 — Julie Yoo & Tim Wike Are employers finally ready to switch to alternative health plans—and can those plans actually lower costs? 40:41 — Did AI Add $1B to Healthcare? Blue Cross says AI-assisted coding may have contributed to nearly $1 billion in additional healthcare spending without more care being delivered. 46:27 — Caroline Zhang / Knowtex Knowtex CEO Caroline Zhang joins us to unpack its massive VA win and what it takes to deploy clinical AI at government scale. 58:14 — Wrap Up We recap the biggest takeaways from the week. 58:42 — Final Thoughts / Close Final thoughts to close the show.

    Oura Delays Its IPO, Did AI Add $1B to Healthcare?Julie Yoo, Tim Wike, Caroline Zhang | HCN Ep. 9

  4. Sep 30

    GLP-1 race, Crémieux on embryo selection, and corporate control of medical practices | HCN Ep. 8

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Who’s actually winning the GLP-1 race—and can embryo screening deliver on its promises? This week on HCN, we unpack the fight over patient recordings, the proposed crackdown on corporate medicine, and the science behind some of healthcare’s biggest promises. Special guests Otto Sipe, CEO and cofounder of Photon, and Cremieux join us to debate AI doctors, weight-loss drugs, embryo selection, and cancer screening. 00:00 — Intro & Bookmarks The week’s healthcare headlines, what caught our attention, and what’s on the docket. 11:37 — Patient Data: Who Owns Your Doctor’s Visit Recording? A Washington court denies a patient access to an AI-scribe recording of her appointment. We debate patient access, physician control, and why getting care can feel like assembling a legal case. 19:49 — Otto Sipe: AI Doctors & the GLP-1 Race Photon’s CEO and cofounder joins us to discuss who’s winning in GLP-1 prescribing, pills versus injections, the FDA’s pressure on compounders, and which parts of a doctor’s job AI could actually take over. 40:09 — PE $ In Health: AOC, Warren & the Future of Private Practice Would restricting private equity and insurer control of medical practices protect doctors—or push more of them toward hospital systems? We unpack the proposed legislation, the role of management services organizations, and the hospital exemption. 46:24 — Cremieux: Embryo Selection & Cancer Screening Cremieux joins us to scrutinize Nucleus Genomics’ embryo-selection claims and GRAIL’s Galleri cancer-screening test. What does the evidence support, where does the marketing get ahead of the science, and what would make these tests worth using? 1:06:01 — Wrap Up Closing out this week’s conversations. 1:06:30 — Final Thoughts: AI’s Patience Problem AI promises unlimited productivity. Is it also making us unwilling to work through anything that isn’t instant? A closing thought on the difference between faster output and better work—and why, especially in healthcare, some things still deserve the time to get them right.

    GLP-1 race, Crémieux on embryo selection, and corporate control of medical practices | HCN Ep. 8

  5. Sep 25

    FDA Approves Muscle Drug, the MA Gold Rush Ending, with Stuart Blitz & Scott Law | HCN EP. 7

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! This week on HCN: the FDA approves ISEMBYLD, a myostatin-targeting muscle drug for SMA — is this the next GLP-1 story? Employer health costs keep climbing while 91% of premium growth still tracks care spending. The Medicare Advantage gold rush faces tighter CMS rules. Oura opens the books ahead of an IPO, Apple pushes to become your health home, and we ask whether menopause supplements actually work after 25 years of thin evidence. Special guests: Stuart Blitz, cofounder and COO of Hone Health, and Scott Law, partner at Meridian Street Capital. Segments: — The Muscle Drug Is Here (ISEMBYLD / myostatin) — Research Backup — The Health Plan Rebuild (employer plans / a16z / JAMA) — The MA Gold Rush Is Over (Medicare Advantage / risk adjustment) — Oura Opens the Books (IPO / consumer health) — Apple Wants to Be Your Health Home — Do Menopause Supplements Actually Work? — Guest: Stuart Blitz, Hone Health — Guest: Scott Law, Meridian Street Capital — Final Close — The Health Plan Death Spiral

    FDA Approves Muscle Drug, the MA Gold Rush Ending, with Stuart Blitz & Scott Law | HCN EP. 7
  • 5 Episodes

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Health Care Network is a live weekly operator debate on the business of healthcare — hosted by Cédric Kovacs-Johnson and Danish Nagda, with industry guests. Live Thursdays 12pm ET on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube; audio episodes on this feed.

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