So the guy says: “I’ve never lied to you, I’ve always told you some version of the truth.” And the woman says “The truth doesn’t have versions, ok?” Obviously, this is a line from a movie because no one could say this with a straight face in our real world right now. That’s the great and late Diane Keaton “womansplaining” what truth means to Jack Nicholson in the movie “Something Has Got To Give” – a title that is just like what I mutter to myself almost every day during this political game of chicken (i.e., government shutdown). I remember Diane Keaton and explore what I expect to hear at HLTH in Las Vegas next week in the One Thoughtful Paragraph below.
I will refrain from womansplaining the news to you, but you can click on the links to determine your own version of the truth:
- Oura, the smart ring company that uses sensors to measure blood oxygen, heart rate speed, body temperature, and sleep stages, announced it raised an eye-popping $900 million to expand its health features. It is reportedly worth more than $11 billion and it has not announced going public (yet).
- The Peterson Health Technology Institute published its 2025 State of Digital Health Purchasing Survey, an analysis of 300+ responses from digital health decisionmakers, including health plans, employers, and health systems.
- The CARIN Alliance created a digital identity credential policy that combines three existing frameworks to allow patients and other stakeholders to be recognized no matter what system is being accessed — including TEFCA.
“Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember, don’t get mad, get everything.” This is the great advice that Ivanka Trump gives Diane Keaton, Bette Midler, and Goldie Hawn in the movie The First Wives Club. It is a great story about a start-up organization that offers women a safe place to go after their first husbands dump them and before they dump their second husbands. We expect to be hearing a lot about health AI-related startups at the HLTH event in Las Vegas next week. One of them is Vega Health, founded by one of the few expert evaluators of health AI solutions, Dr. Mark Sendak. He proposes to help health systems identify which AI-supported health solutions to buy and then he will track the tool’s progress for them. In a world where it is hard for health systems (or anyone) to afford health AI professionals in-house, this fractional Chief AI Officer idea comes at the right time. In a way, Vega Health is like The First Wives Club – Mark was there when these health AI tools were first tested, gained all the knowledge and perspective about what can go wrong, and now he is offering everyone a place to go to get the expertise they need to move forward. It’s helpful because hospitals know they need to modernize their systems but they really don’t want to change all that much. Maybe Vega Health should adopt The First Wives Club theme song: You Don’t Own Me. Hospitals can relate to its lyrics: “You don’t own me… Don’t try to change me in any way.”
—
Remember, register here for Maverick Health Policy’s upcoming quarterly webinar on October 29th!
