Ruth Reader here. It’s my first week at Second Opinion, and my very first introduction to our weekly roundup. For anyone new to my work, I’m a long-time tech reporter who started covering the intersection of health and tech back in 2019. Up until recently, I was a reporter for POLITICO, where I got a close look at the politics of health innovation. I’ll occasionally be taking over the weekly roundup to share what I’m seeing and hearing from the frontlines of healthcare, technology and policy.

There is increasing pressure on technology to reduce the cost of health care. 

Americans’ anxiety around health care costs is growing, with two-thirds of people ranking concern about the price of health care above utilities, food, housing, and gas in a January KFF poll. Those who get their insurance from the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace are feeling the burn of premium increases. In 2026, 8% of enrollees will pay more than $500 in premiums—double the amount that did last cycle—according to new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Other Americans have downgraded their insurance coverage in order to pay lower premiums. 

What can artificial intelligence do about this?

So far, evidence is mixed on whether AI may increase or decrease health care costs for consumers. An analysis of Blue Cross Blueshield Association data from earlier this month found that use of AI in health system billing departments is increasing costs for insurers. Of course, health insurers have also been accused of using AI to inappropriately deny coverage, thereby passing health care costs onto consumers. 

Anyone with an AI innovation wants to get paid for it, but whether or not that product adds costs to the overall system matters. The government is willing to pay for some of this technology—if it can take the cost out. Department of Health and Human Services chief counselor and deputy administrator for CMS, Chris Klomp, has told Second Opinion the agency is willing to pay for AI that’s deflationary. 

This tells us there is an opportunity for AI that reduces costs—a trend that is only likely to continue. Voters are extremely concerned about health care costs, as I noted above. As we head into the midterm election campaign season, there is pressure on both Democrats and Republicans to deliver on lower health costs themselves. Ultimately, that means pressure on health businesses of all kinds.

This past week, we saw big adoption of AI in health systems—particularly ambient scribes. But what is the ROI? Smart health care entrepreneurs should be asking themselves how their use of these innovations doesn’t just bring in more money, but how they reduce costs for patients. Here’s your summary of the news of the week, curated by Christina Farr, Meredith Nolan, and our freelancer Annalisa Merelli.

Three-quarters of health systems are now using AI, up from 59% in 2025, according to a new survey. Organizations have moved past pilots and are using AI to tackle capacity and operational issues. More than half of the health systems surveyed said AI brought a return of double the investment. 

Heidi Health, valued at $465 million, is expanding into hardware. The Australian company — an outside competitor of Silicon Valley giants — created a wearable microphone that doctors can use to record their visits without the need for a laptop. It features a “kill switch” that allows it to stop recording, which the company says is a move to combat “always listening” ambient AI. 

Can you tell an AI-generated X-ray from a real one? Try this quiz. It’s surprisingly hard! A study published in Radiology found that when presented with both real and synthetic X-rays, a majority of radiologists didn't notice the deepfakes (to be fair, they hadn’t been alerted to the presence of the fake X-rays). Still, some 41% did catch on.  

Neion Bio, a biotech startup, emerged from stealth by announcing that it is developing three new drug compounds with a pharmaceutical company. These drugs are created using chicken eggs, a feat that previously eluded biotechnology research, and could cut the price of new drug production to a tenth, or even hundredths. 

Doctronic raised $40 million: The AI doctors startup closed a Series B round co-led by Abstract and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This latest funding brings the total raised by the company to $65 million.

Qualified Health raised $125 million: The company, which provides a platform to enable scalable AI adoption in healthcare systems, closed a Series B round led by NEA.

Blossom Health raised $20 million: The company, providing AI support for psychiatric care, closed Seed and Series A rounds.  

Thesis Care raised $45 million: The AI platform for clinical care capacity, formerly known as Trovo Health, closed a Series A funding round led by Oak HC/FT. 

Adonis raised $40 million: The company, which uses AI to prevent insurance denial and support claims resolution, closed a Series C round led by Quadrille Capital. Its total capital stands at $95 million. 

OpenEvidence launched Coding Intelligence: The program automates coding to capture every dollar earned by physicians.

eMed raised $200 million: The company, led by X’s ex-CEO Linda Yaccarino, provides access to GLP-1. It closed a funding round that put its valuation at $2 billion, and announced Tom Brady as chief wellness officer. 

Infosys acquires Optimum Healthcare IT and Stratus. The Indian IT services firm paid $465 million for Optimum Healthcare IT and $95 million for Stratus in all-cash deals.

Neuberg Diagnostics eyes an IPO: The AI-supported diagnostic and testing chain aims to go public within six months in India, said its chairman and managing director, GSK Velu.

1) Tell us about your new role because I am always intrigued by journalism to industry transitions. 

I’m going to be the Head of Content and Community for Clarium, an AI-powered company that is transforming supply chain management. It’s an exciting startup that has raised $43 million from several notable investors, including General Catalyst, Northzone, AlleyCorp, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, and the TMC Venture Fund. Clarium has impressive customers, including The Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and Yale New Haven Health, tackling one of the most pertinent challenges in health care.

I plan on acting as the company’s in-house journalist, so to speak, producing content that will help people understand the value of the supply chain to the C-Suite. A growing number of tech companies are hiring former journalists to craft their narratives and build out their brands. You can’t rely on traditional media to tell your story anymore. Both the team at Clarium and I recognize this and see an opportunity to tell this company’s story while emphasizing the role of supply chain as a strategic lever for health systems. 

I also plan on building out this company’s community of users through in-person gatherings and virtual events, helping them collaborate and find ways to solve their biggest challenges. There is nothing more powerful than having strong advocates. We’ve seen it time and time again (particularly in tech). And one thing I love about Clarium is that they have an impressive array of customers and advocates speaking on their behalf. 

2) These days, earned media seems harder than ever. There’s such a small number of journalists left. What has changed?

The economics of traditional journalism are harder than ever before. People don’t want to pay for content, particularly if they feel it can be read or consumed for free. You have to really offer something special to get people to pay a subscription, and even then, it’s hard to keep those people constantly engaged. Churn is an issue all subscription-based companies face. Digital advertising has decreased across the board. Traditional publications face competition from influencers, substackers, social media commentators, and other non-traditional sources of information and news. All this has led to media companies shrinking and offering more narrow coverage. And the problem has only gotten worse in the age of ChatGPT and generative AI. 

3) So how do you get buzz in this new environment? 

You have to offer a genuine value add, whether it’s some kind of analysis, insight into a trend or something that people can’t find anywhere else. And then you need to be active on social media or wherever your potential readers/consumers of content are located. This isn’t just about sharing your own content or promoting your company; it’s about showing the world you are an expert in your area of expertise so they want to hear from you. It has to be genuine because people can sniff out phonies pretty quickly. You have to keep doing that over and over again, week in and week out. Eventually, you’ll start to see movement, and people will come to you for your expertise. 

4) I saw your coverage move away from say funding announcements to features and scoops. What is driving that for reporters? 

It’s the reality that the funding news can be accessed by readers anywhere for free. The investors could share that information on their LinkedIn page or blogs. They could do a podcast with the founder. They really don’t have to share it with the media anymore. And the readers at my former publication knew that, and those stories never did well for us. If it’s a funding story, it has to be more than just how much they raised and by who? The best performing stories are the ones that provide a genuine value add, to my earlier point. It’s hard, though. What provides value one day could be completely useless the next. The world changes quickly nowadays, especially in healthcare. A lot of publications are having a hard time with that. 

Any other parting wisdom from a longtime journalist to our readers? 

People will always care about and engage with good and genuine storytelling, regardless of where it comes from and who it comes from. Podcasts were niche until they weren’t. Don’t be afraid to try something that may seem crazy at first. If it’s good and it helps someone do their job, people will find it. And support good journalism. We need it more than ever!