Vic and Emily Evans discuss the Fed holding rates and the declining influence of monetary policy, Turquoise Health’s $40M raise and the shift toward payment infrastructure, and the broader slowdown in healthcare spending growth. They explore consumer-driven healthcare models, political tensions around insurance and affordability, and upcoming policy shifts. The episode also covers vaccine policy changes, cancer immunotherapy efforts, CMS’s new wearable-driven care model, the rise of ketamine prescriptions, crypto regulation clarity, tokenized markets, AI’s expanding role in healthcare and business, and the growing challenge of trust in an era of synthetic media.

Links

Story # 1 Fed Meeting

00:59 - Fed Holds Rates Steady as Iran War Clouds Outlook WSJ

Story # 2: Price transparency deals

6:05 - Turquoise Health raises $40M to power healthcare contracts, payments Fierce Healthcare

Story # 3 Payers still in Crosshairs

19:56 - Democratic senators detail plans to take on 'Big Insurance' Fierce Healthcare

Story # 4 Vaccine Drama

27:18 - Federal court blocks RFK Jr.’s moves to upend US vaccine policy, Healthcare Dive

27:29 - Health Groups Hailed a Vaccine Ruling, but Their Relief May Be Short-Lived NYT

29:34 - HHS Has a Potential Solution for Cancers That Keep Coming Back: Vaccines WSJ

Story # 5 ACCESS program