In this episode, Julie Yoo and Jay Rughani are joined by Thatch cofounders Chris Ellis and Adam Stevenson to explore why ICHRA—a more recent policy innovation—might quietly revolutionize employer-sponsored health benefits. Unpacking the surprising history of how U.S. healthcare became entangled with employment, they make the case for a defined-contribution future that mirrors the rise of the 401(k) and HSA. Tailored especially for today’s distributed and fast-moving workforce, ICHRA allows employers to offer tax-free health dollars employees can spend how—and where—they choose.

For healthcare entrepreneurs, the conversation provides a blueprint for navigating a rapidly shifting payer landscape, including insight into how fintech infrastructure, policy tailwinds, and carrier ecosystem integrations unlock market readiness.

This episode was originally published in October of 2024. The conversation remains relevant today.

In this episode, Sprinter Health co-founders Max Cohen and Cameron Behar sit down with Julie Yoo to unpack how their home-based care model reaches underserved populations and reintegrates “the unengaged” into the healthcare system. From starting with blood draws in living rooms to scaling a high-complexity, tech-enabled logistics platform, they share how operations, empathy, and human connection power their success. The duo reflects on the constraints and regulatory nuance of healthcare, revealing how humility, intentional culture-building, and pragmatism give tech-native founders an edge. Listeners will walk away with tactical advice on balancing scrappiness with long-term scalability, architecting tech-clinical collaboration, and applying AI to augment—not replace—human-delivered care. For healthcare entrepreneurs navigating systems transformation without deep domain roots, this candid conversation is both roadmap and reality check.

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In this episode, Tennr cofounder and CEO Trey Holterman sits down with a16z’s David Haber and Jay Rughani to unpack one of healthcare’s most overlooked pain points: patient referral logistics. When a patient is referred to a specialist and told that the specialist will follow up with them, what happens next? A convoluted system sometimes involving dozens of staff and multiple portals, all of which may or may not result in the specialist actually following up.

Trey shares how Tennr leverages AI to automate the complex, unstructured workflows that delay patient care and burden frontline staff. Tennr's goal is to meaningfully increase patient conversions—ensuring more people get the treatment they need, faster.

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