Payers

Anna Kim

It’s no secret that rising medical costs and policy shifts have challenged health insurers over the last few years.

Major insurers have responded by pulling plans from unprofitable areas, raising prices, or exiting certain lines of business, particularly within Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. Now, those big companies finally seem to be getting costs under control. Their Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations.

But regional not-for-profit plans are facing a different reality. Their financial recovery looks more difficult. They may operate in only one state or offer a more limited number of plans, which gives them fewer options for restructuring, experts said.

If their financial struggles push these plans to shutter or consolidate, that can leave consumers with fewer options and higher premiums, according to research by the American Medical Association.

Dig into the challenges here.—CC

      

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Tech

Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Jeremy Gurewitz

Even doctors can get lost in the healthcare system.

Jeremy Gurewitz learned that firsthand when his mother, a radiologist, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016. Despite her medical expertise, she struggled to navigate treatment options, insurance hurdles, and the complexity of coordinating care. And her experience isn’t unique.

A 2021 study published in Healthcare Services Research found that 73% of insured, nonelderly US adults had completed at least one healthcare-related administrative task in the prior year, and roughly one in three reported delayed or foregone care because of administrative burdens.

Gurewitz’s mother passed away in 2018. The experience inspired him to build and in 2022 launch Solace with co-founder Sara Sargent. The company connects patients with advocates who help them navigate medical decisions, insurance challenges, and care coordination.

“We connect folks with a healthcare advocate powered by AI,” Gurewitz explained to Founder Brew. “It’s a real human being, so it’s a real advocate. We have AI that enables them to be highly effective for people, do whatever you need for them to do, and it’s all covered by insurance.”

In a conversation with Founder Brew, Gurewitz discussed the gaps his mother’s experience exposed, why navigating care remains difficult, and what he underestimated about building Solace.

Read more about Gurewitz’s work here.—JH

      

Tech

Tom Samuelson

Metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes can be expensive for employers to cover, especially if employees are prescribed GLP-1s, which can cost $1,000 to $1,500 per person per month. Startup Twin Health aims to change that. Its technology, offered to employers, uses a combination of AI and wearable devices that track metrics such as blood sugar, weight, and activity levels to create “digital twins” of employees with metabolic conditions. Employees receive health coaching and can view meal recommendations and health data on an app.

A Cleveland Clinic study found that, over one year, 71% of diabetics using Twin Health were able to lower their blood sugar. The percentage using GLP-1s dropped from 41% to 6%.

Twin Health, founded in 2018, has nearly 200 companies as customers, including giants like Blackstone and Walmart. A Series E round last year brought in $53 million, taking the company’s valuation to $950 million. But its business model rests on a proposition more closely associated with law firms than health care startups: In some cases, Twin Health doesn’t get paid unless employees enrolled in the program reach certain benchmarks, such as lower weight or blood sugar, or using fewer medications.

We spoke with Tom Samuelson, who joined Twin Health as VP of finance and strategy in 2021 and became CFO in February 2025, to hear more about the company’s business model and how the finance function has changed as the company matures.

Check out the rest of the interview on CFO Brew.—CV

      

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vital signs

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: 11%. That’s how much cases linked to cyclosporiasis rose in Michigan from last week, bringing the total to 13,909 cases. (Reuters)

Quote: “We’re trying to refute what the patients have convinced themselves that they have based on whatever they’ve searched and reviewed. You can get everything from, ‘You have a cold,’ to ‘You’re dying of cancer.’”—Jason Goldman, an internist from Florida on how doctors are dealing with patients asking AI about their test results (the Wall Street Journal)

Read: President Donald Trump wants to split the MMR vaccine into three parts. But does science back that up? (the New York Times)

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