Inside US Heart and Vascular: Cardiology's Independent Integration Play and When Private Equity Works

Inside US Heart and Vascular: Cardiology's Independent Integration Play and When Private Equity Works

Featuring: Emily Rash (COO) and Dr. Neil Gheewala (CMO of Value-Based Care), US Heart and Vascular --- Is 3-6 weeks really how long patients should have to wait to see a cardiologist? That's the national average — and it's the exact inefficiency Emily Rash (COO) and Dr. Neil Gheewala (CMO of Value-Based Care) at US Heart and Vascular are betting they can fix. Blake Madden sat down with them for a refreshingly candid conversation about what actually separates an integrated cardiology platform from a bunch of practices bolted onto a cap table. In this episode: * The Ares + Rubicon Founders dual capital structure — arguably the sharpest specialty-VBC sponsor pairing out there * The "AIR" framework (autonomy, independence, representative governance), and why the third leg is the one most rollups get wrong * Why cardiology might be the cleanest specialty fit for value-based care, full stop (no structural fee-for-service conflict the way a hospital has) * Neil's actual pitch to RFK Jr. for a "Level 6" reimbursement category for ambulatory IV diuretics (CMMI, this one's free) * Where cardiology bifurcates in the next five years: outpatient access groups vs. hospital-based acute care If specialty VBC, physician governance, or the cardiology rollup wave are anywhere on your radar, this one's worth the listen. --- Navvis partners with health systems and health plans to deliver real performance improvement across value-based care and fee-for-service models. https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc [https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc] --- For expert analysis on healthcare M&A, strategy, finance, and markets, join 68K+ readers of Blake Madden’s Hospitalogy newsletter. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Like our podcast? Listen to previous episodes here: ⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Be sure to leave us a review, and share our podcast with colleagues. Follow Blake Madden on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]

Whoop for Your Poop: Inside Throne Science's Bet on the Smart Toilet (with Scott Hickle, Co-Founder, Throne Science)

This episode covers something Claims Denied hasn't touched before: the world's first passive gut health monitoring device. Blake sits down with Scott Hickle, co-founder of Throne Science, for a deep dive into the tech behind hands-free gut health, hydration, and urinary health monitoring — and yes, that means talking about poop for an hour. It turns out to be one of the most fascinating conversations on the pod yet, covering real technology, wild behavior-change data, and a long-term vision for cancer screening. Listen to hear: * How Throne's monitor clips onto your toilet, identifies users via Bluetooth, and runs entirely in the background with no sample collection and no manual logging * How Whoop's former CTO ended up joining the team after a hospital stay with ulcerative colitis * What three years of obsessive product development looks like when building a camera for the most intimate room in someone's home * What longitudinal gut health data reveals that elimination diets and manual stool logs can't * How Oura Ring's decade-long arc — from 2,400 Kickstarter units to an $11 billion valuation — shapes Throne's own go-to-market patience * The roadmap toward detecting microscopic blood in stool, and why that could make Throne a smoke detector for colon cancer, bladder cancer, and more Follow Scott Hickle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthickle/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthickle/] Follow Throne Science on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thronescience/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thronescience/] --- Navvis partners with health systems and health plans to deliver real performance improvement across value-based care and fee-for-service models. https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc [https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc] For expert analysis on healthcare M&A, strategy, finance, and markets, join 68K+ readers of Blake Madden’s Hospitalogy newsletter. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Like our podcast? Listen to previous episodes here: ⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Be sure to leave us a review, and share our podcast with colleagues. Follow Blake Madden on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]

VBC’s shift to performance, AI agents on the org chart, LEAD is a no-go, and why health systems should prep for mandatory risk models (with Tim Elliott, CEO of Navvis)

In this latest episode of Claims Denied, Blake sits down with Tim Elliott, CEO of Navvis, for one of the most clear-eyed conversations he's had on where value-based models are actually headed. Tim doesn't deal in buzzwords or wishful thinking. He deals in what's actually working, what operators are getting wrong, and where the puck is going — whether you're ready for it or not. Here were some gems from the discussion which makes the broader convo worth your time: * Payment innovation will always come out of the government. Tim's conviction is that DRGs came from CMS, and the next durable models, commercial and governmental alike, will too. Not the private market. * Tim is a fan of moving more into mandatory risk models. While most operators are bracing against mandatory, Tim thinks the mandatory direction is exactly where we need to go and would tell CMMI to keep pushing. * LEAD is a no-go right now for most systems. Navvis' analysis with their partners anticipates very few of them will move to LEAD as it stands today. Benchmarking and settlement math doesn't pencil yet, so it's enhanced-track MSSP until they get a few more reps. * Stop leading with the comp model. Popular belief (that Blake asked Tim about) is that nothing changes in healthcare until physician comp changes. Tim pushed back on this notion hard. At SSM Health, he led with culture first and comp later, and argued you can get pretty darn far before you ever touch the RVU. * FTEs are becoming FTAs, meaning full-time equivalent agents. His advice was to start drawing your org chart with agents on it. Pretty interesting mental model and paradigm shift. --- Navvis partners with health systems and health plans to deliver real performance improvement across value-based care and fee-for-service models. https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc [https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc] --- For expert analysis on healthcare M&A, strategy, finance, and markets, join 68K+ readers of Blake Madden’s Hospitalogy newsletter. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Like our podcast? Listen to previous episodes here: ⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Be sure to leave us a review, and share our podcast with colleagues. Follow Tim Elliott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-elliott-b246aa151/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-elliott-b246aa151/]  Follow Blake Madden on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0]

How Lantern and Morgan Health Are Re-Wiring Employer Healthcare, And Why Narrow Networks Are Suddenly Worth a Second Look (with Dan Mendelson, CEO Morgan Health and John Zutter, CEO Lantern)

Blake Madden sits down with two of the people most responsible for re-wiring the employer side of healthcare right now: Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health — JPMorgan Chase's $280M healthcare investment arm — and John Zutter, CEO of Lantern, a specialty care navigation platform now covering 12 million member lives. The conversation covers serious ground: * How Lantern cracked the code on surgeons of excellence at a community level * Why Dan thinks traditional payer networks are failing * The $10M cell & gene therapy math nobody at the employer level wants to run * Whether AI finally makes narrow networks work this time around * Why specialty care, oncology, infusions, and specialty drugs represent ~60% of total employer healthcare spend — and are growing 1.5x to 3x faster than overall trend If you sell into employers, sit on a benefits committee, run a self-funded plan, or invest in this corner of the market, this one's worth blocking off the time for. --- Navvis partners with health systems and health plans to deliver real performance improvement across value-based care and fee-for-service models. ⁠⁠https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc⁠⁠ [https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc] --- For expert analysis on healthcare M&A, strategy, finance, and markets, join 68K+ readers of Blake Madden’s Hospitalogy newsletter. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/] Like our podcast? Listen to previous episodes here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/]  Be sure to leave us a review, and share our podcast with colleagues. Follow Blake Madden on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/]  --- Follow Dan Mendelson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dnmendelson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dnmendelson/]  Follow John Zutter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-zutter-687000a/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-zutter-687000a/]

From Multiplan Insider to Multiplan Disruptor: The Daffodil Health Story (with Navin Nagiah, CEO of Daffodil Health)

In this latest episode of Claims Denied, Blake Madden sits down with Navin Nagiah, co-founder and CEO of Daffodil Health. Navin spent nearly two years inside Multiplan trying to modernize their repricing model from the inside — went to the board three times, couldn't get alignment, and left to build the AI-native version himself. Blake and Navin get into the No Surprises Act arbitration imbalance (88% provider win rate), why the "percent of savings" model is built on a fake pricing anchor, and Daffodil's vision to evolve from OON repricing into a full smart plan platform. Plus, Navin shares why a 10-day silent meditation retreat is a founder development hack. --- Navvis partners with health systems and health plans to deliver real performance improvement across value-based care and fee-for-service models. ⁠https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc⁠ [https://navvishealthcare.com/vbc] --- For expert analysis on healthcare M&A, strategy, finance, and markets, join 68K+ readers of Blake Madden’s Hospitalogy newsletter. Subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/] Like our podcast? Listen to previous episodes here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://hospitalogy.com/podcast/]  Be sure to leave us a review, and share our podcast with colleagues. Follow Blake Madden on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecmadden/]  --- To learn more about Daffodil Health, check out their website: https://daffodilhealth.com/ [https://daffodilhealth.com/] Follow Navin Nagiah on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/navin-nagiah-8ab16⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/navin-nagiah-8ab16]