Bonne Fire ATL turns two this week. We are so grateful for everyone who’s helped build this community along the way.
Hey y’all,
It's Friday and we made it through another week. Pour yourself something good, you've earned it.
This week's roundup tells two stories running in parallel.
First, healthcare M&A is back and it’s about scale. Across behavioral health, specialty care, women’s health, and employer health, buyers are betting on platforms over point solutions, enterprise over consumer, and integration over novelty. From Spring Health and Alma to Sword and Kaia, the direction is clear.
Second, the infrastructure underneath all of this is still catching up. Policymakers and operators are working through new data standards, provider identity, Medicaid modernization, and long-overdue fixes to diagnostic image exchange, all in a system that has grown more complex than it was built to handle.
Let's go.
— Nadine Peever
PS: Our February happy hour just dropped. RSVP here.
Weekly Roundup
What This Week’s M&A Says About Where Healthtech Is Headed
The big picture: Healthtech consolidation is accelerating. The winners are building platforms, not point solutions.
What’s happening:
Behavioral health is scaling up. NOCD’s acquisition of Rebound Health and the Spring Health–Alma merger point to multi-condition platforms built to work with payers.
Specialty care is going global. Sword’s $285M purchase of Kaia adds pulmonary care and access to international reimbursement, showing buyers will pay for evidence, IP, and distribution.
Women’s health is moving enterprise. Wisp’s acquisition of TBD Health signals a shift away from pure DTC toward employer and health system contracts.
Employer health is consolidating. The Premise–Crossover merger creates a single vendor for onsite, virtual, behavioral, and occupational care.
Why it matters: Standalone point solutions are getting squeezed. Investors and buyers are prioritizing platforms that span conditions, integrate with insurance, and deliver predictable B2B revenue.
What to watch:
Partnerships like Lyra + Carrum and Reperio + Amazon One Medical are connecting previously fragmented care journeys.
More consolidation is likely as capital tightens and scale becomes a competitive advantage.
Bottom line: Healthtech is entering its platform era. Products that plug into larger care ecosystems will win.
Weekly Roundup
Other health innovation news
Policy & Regulatory:
Draft USCDI v7 Opens for Public Comment: ASTP/ONC just dropped Draft USCDI v7 with 30 new data elements— think nutrition orders, better diagnostic imaging standards, and updated race/ethnicity fields that finally match the government's revised guidelines. You've got until April 13 to weigh in as they keep tweaking what data should flow between health systems.
CMS Expands National Provider Directory with Digital Identity Layer: CMS is launching an upgraded national provider directory by March 31 that will show which clinicians have verified digital identities and are connected to health data networks. The aim is to replace thousands of fragmented directories with a single, more reliable source, relying on voluntary participation.
ASTP/ONC Wants Your Take on Diagnostic Image Exchange: ASTP is asking for public feedback on barriers to seamless diagnostic image sharing, with the goal of moving beyond CDs and flash drives. The request signals growing recognition that current image exchange infrastructure is not working.
Ten Tech Companies Pledge $600M to Modernize Medicaid Systems: A group of Medicaid technology vendors has offered states more than $600 million in free and discounted software to help modernize systems ahead of 2027 requirements. The move helps states upgrade quickly while positioning vendors for future contracts.
Everything Else:
Measles in the Southeast: A growing measles outbreak in South Carolina, now one of the largest in the U.S. in years, shows that outbreak readiness is local and uneven. For health innovators, the signal goes beyond vaccination rates to the last mile of response: identifying exposures quickly, communicating clearly with schools and families, verifying immunization status across care settings, and moving data across state lines. Outbreaks do not stop at borders, and preparedness should not either. Prevention only works if the systems behind it are usable, trusted, and ready when they are needed.
Google DeepMind Launches AlphaGenome to Decode Noncoding DNA: The model analyzes the 98% of DNA that controls gene activity rather than coding for proteins. By modeling long stretches of genetic material, it could help researchers identify disease-causing mutations and improve gene therapy design. For now, it remains a research-only tool. H/T Patrick Kennedy
ChenMed Sounds Alarm on GLP-1s for Seniors: ChenMed stopped prescribing GLP-1 weight loss drugs to older Medicare Advantage patients after seeing a spike in hospitalizations, largely from falls tied to muscle loss. The company reports higher rates of serious side effects than seen in trials, arguing that existing studies did not include the complex, older patients they serve.
Closing Thoughts
In Minneapolis, recent ICE activity has brought real fear and disruption to many families, unsettling daily life in ways that are deeply felt. At the same time, the community is mourning the loss of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, neighbor, and son known for his kindness and quiet commitment to caring for others. His death has been devastating, not only for those who knew him personally, but for many who are grappling with the weight of these moments happening at once. It’s a reminder that behind every headline are real people, real grief, and a shared responsibility to show up for one another with care and humanity.
For those who want to help in a nonpartisan, community-centered way, several trusted 501(c)(3) organizations are offering legal support, emergency assistance, and help meeting basic needs, including the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s Immigrant Rapid Response Fund, and local mutual-aid efforts focused on food and family safety.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
–Nadine
Interested in sponsoring? Drop us a note!
Want to connect with the people shaping healthcare innovation in Atlanta? You can sponsor our newsletter, host one of our events, or collaborate with us on something new.
Pulse Check reaches builders, operators, and thinkers who care about the innovation that actually moves healthcare forward. Our events bring together clinicians, engineers, policy leaders, researchers, and founders working on real problems, not hype.
If you’re interested in supporting the community or building something together, we’d love to talk.
Email us at [email protected] if you're interested.