Hey y’all,
Last night we were on the patio at Krog Street Market, warm February air (god bless atlanta), watching old friends and new fall into easy, thoughtful conversations. I left feeling what I always feel after our happy hours: my GOD love this community we’ve built.
Which makes today’s theme feel even more real.
The World Cup is coming, and most people see a sports story. We see a healthcare one. Six million visitors. Strained infrastructure. Public health coordination. Payment models. Data reporting. Specialty access. Healthcare is everywhere, even in a stadium. It’s a super fun read, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Here’s what we’re watching this week, from CMS’s new ACCESS model to the policy and tech shifts shaping what comes next.
HEALTHCARE IS EVERYWHERE
The World Cup is Healthcare
On June 11, 2026, the largest sporting event in history lands on American soil.
One hundred and four matches.
Sixteen cities.
Thirty-nine days of summer.
Six million international visitors.
And yes, Atlanta is one of those host cities. You can already feel it if you’re paying attention. Soccer-themed murals have been popping up all across the city. Infrastructure projects are (finally!) moving forward. It feels like Christmas eve for the world’s greatest sport.
Most of the headlines have focused on security and economic impact. Totally fair. But if you zoom out just a bit, something much more interesting is happening.
The World Cup is about to become one of the most unconventional healthcare stress tests this country has ever seen.
And most people are looking in the wrong places.
The World Cup has a healthcare story buried inside it that nobody's telling.
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
CMS Just Launched a New Payment Model. Here's What It Means.
The ACCESS Model is CMS's latest experiment in outcomes-based reimbursement, and it's probably worth paying attention to.
What it is: A voluntary Medicare model testing whether tying payments to outcomes (not just screenings) changes how chronic conditions get managed. Five tracks cover cardio/kidney/metabolic disease, MSK, and behavioral health.
What's different: Most value-based programs reward you for checking boxes. ACCESS ties monthly payments to whether patients actually get better. There's also a technology requirement — though "requirement" is generous. Participants just need to report outcomes electronically. The floor is low.
The money problem: This is where it gets complicated. The reimbursement rates are drawing criticism across the board. We're talking $30/month for early CKM disease management, plus a $360 year-end bonus. For context: actually managing a patient with chronic kidney and metabolic disease costs significantly more than that. The math is hard.
Our take: ACCESS is a meaningful step toward paying for health, not just healthcare. But the payment rates favor health systems with large panels of relatively healthy patients — places where population health math works in their favor. Expect early adopters to be well-resourced, forward-thinking systems, not safety net hospitals.
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Here’s what else we’re reading
Policy
HHS is now enforcing 42 CFR Part 2 the same way it enforces HIPAA. That means providers handling addiction treatment records can face real penalties if they get it wrong.
Public Health
The FDA rejected Moderna's first-ever mRNA flu shot application, then changed its mind a week later after the company proposed tweaking the regulatory approach. If approved by August, it could hit pharmacies for adults 50+ this fall.
Jay Bhattacharya is now simultaneously running both the NIH and the CDC, making him the third CDC leader since Kennedy fired Susan Monarez after less than a month on the job last summer.
Tech
Optum launched Value Connect, an AI platform that spots care gaps and nudges interventions for payers and providers.
Former Cleveland Clinic innovation chief and Google Cloud CMO William Morris just joined AI startup Tennr to help automate referral triaging and get specialists seeing the right patients.
More than 20 health systems just launched the National Specialty Care Access Coalition to tackle rural specialty care shortages with tech-enabled models and policy reform instead of one-off pilots.
Fertility benefits platform Carrot is adding 24/7 pediatric telehealth through Blueberry Pediatrics, giving families with kids under 12 virtual doctor access plus a home medical kit with an ear scope, pulse oximeter, and thermometer.
Opinion
Financially squeezed primary care practices are banding together in Independent Physician Associations to negotiate better rates and move toward value-based contracts, with looming Medicaid cuts making the strategy even more urgent.
After dropping $1 million on lobbying (up from $40K the year before), Oura convinced the FDA to ease up on wearables regulations. The bigger question is where’s the line between medicine and wellness?
What did you think of this week's Pulse Check?
Closing Thoughts
Something from last night's happy hour has been stuck in my head.
“There’s a difference between having a job and being pulled by something you care about.”
Healthcare can be both. It can be spreadsheets and compliance and payment models. And it can be purpose. It can be community. It can be the decision to keep building something better.
If you’ve made it this far in this newsletter, I have a feeling you’re in that second bucket.
We’re really glad you’re here.
Luv, Nadine
Interested in sponsoring? Drop us a note!
Pulse Check reaches builders, operators, and thinkers who care about the innovation that 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.