Health:Further 127 - RFK’s Plan to Slash 20,000 Jobs and What It Means for Healthcare
In this episode, Marcus and Vic discuss the nonstop barrage of breaking political and economic news, starting with NCAA March Madness brackets and how NIL and the transfer portal have reshaped college sports. They cover February's unexpected 4.2% rise in home sales, Trump's proposed 25% car tariffs, and broader conversations on globalization, economic nationalism, and JD Vance’s key arguments at the American Dynamism conference. The hosts analyze implications of U.S. trade strategies, April's looming tariff escalations, and domestic reinvestment from companies like Johnson & Johnson. They also examine Silicon Valley’s shifting stance on Trump, tightening export controls on China, Delaware’s legal changes to compete with Texas for incorporations, and major AI-driven VC funding rounds including Navaa and Arlo. Further topics include Medicaid waste, bioethics of embryo research, China’s controversial gene-editing comeback, GLP-1 access restrictions, centralized hospital command centers, 23andMe’s bankruptcy, and the neurological impact of retirement. They close by exploring biofeedback’s role in elite performance and the future of work amid rapid technological change.
4:43 - Home Sales Rose 4.2% in February, Beating Expectations WSJ
5:40 - Trump Announces 25% Tariffs on Imported Cars and Car Parts NYT
19:57 - What to know about the April 2 tariff day Axios
21:39 - Johnson & Johnson to Invest Over $55 Billion in U.S. in Next Four Years WSJ
22:46 - Trump Takes Tough Approach to Choking Off China’s Access to U.S. Tech WSJ
27:32 - Delaware Punches Back at Texas Efforts to Lure Away Companies WSJ
30:06 - Navina lands $55M from Goldman Sachs Modern Healthcare
32:05 - Silna Health gets $27M for insurance automation Axios
33:46 - Startup insurer Arlo raises $4M on back of AI-powered underwriting Fierce Healthcare
34:33 - Healthtech VCs Look to AI for Next Wave of Returns WSJ
34:56 - Two of a Kind: Founder of Snack Company Seeks to Back Next Big Consumer-Health Startup WSJ
36:12 - Andreessen Horowitz Aims to Raise a Smaller Bio Fund WSJ
39:38 - RFK Jr. prepares 10,000 more job cuts across HHS, outlines office consolidations Fierce Healthcare
40:29 - RFK on X
41:12 - Taxpayers Spent Billions Covering the Same Medicaid Patients Twice WSJ
46:36 - How Medicaid and SNAP cuts could affect your state Axios
50:01 - Senate confirms nominees to lead FDA, NIH under RFK Jr. Modern Healthcare