In this episode, a16z GP Julie Yoo sits down with Peter McCanna, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, to break down how one of America's largest health systems is transforming from a supply-driven "walled castle" to a customer-centric ecosystem, and how it's achieving a 10% operating margin while most hospitals struggle to stay in the black.

They get into why helping his father navigate healthcare convinced Pete the entire system is fundamentally broken, what differentiates academic medical centers from community health systems, and why traditional hospital economics root out essential services like behavioral health. Peter also explains how ambient AI reduced physician burnout rates by 70%, why AI will eventually replace any job involving human-screen interaction, and what he looks for in startup partnerships beyond just TAM and business fundamentals.

Resources:

Follow Peter on X: @PeteMcCanna

Follow Julie on X: @julesyoo

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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A labor and delivery nurse who ran Senate healthcare policy now manages $1.7 trillion in federal health spending—and she runs her team like a startup.

Steph Carlton, Chief of Staff and Deputy Administrator at CMS, reveals the OKRs driving Medicare and Medicaid, why they're killing social determinants funding while building consumer health apps at scale, and how real-time provider data could collapse the 18-month lag between care delivery and payment.

The team mixing founders with policy veterans is rewriting quality measures around VO2 max and app engagement, not just disease management—because preventing illness years before it happens might finally be worth more than treating it after.

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If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX

Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures

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Drug discovery has doubled the flow of candidates, but approvals remain roughly flat. The constraint is development, not discovery.

In this episode, a16z General Partner, Jorge Conde talks with Formation Bio cofounder and CEO Ben Liu about building a modern pharma company around clinical execution. They discuss Formation Bio’s hub-and-spoke model for acquiring and advancing assets, how AI compresses trial timelines and costs, picking winners, regulatory strategy, and what it would take to move from about 50 approvals a year to many more. They also touch on global competition and why clinical proof still drives value in today’s market.\

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction

0:38 Why Formation Bio? Origins and Mission

1:12 The Real Bottleneck: Clinical Development

4:56 Formation Bio’s Business Model

7:50 Picking Winners: The Art and Science of Drug Selection

11:54 First-in-Class vs. Best-in-Class Strategies

14:04 Overcoming Regulatory and Market Challenges

17:26 The Stakes: Can We Approve More Drugs?

19:07 How Formation Bio Cuts Cost and Time

21:43 AI’s Role in Drug Development

25:10 The Future: From 50 to 500 Drug Approvals?

35:18 Global Competition: The Rise of China

39:28 The Path Forward: Data, Regulation, and Access

41:47 Conclusion: Realizing the AI Revolution in Pharma

Resources:
Find Ben on X: https://x.com/BenjamineYLiu

Find Jorge on X: https://x.com/JorgeCondeBio

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If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

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Listen to the Raising Health Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjb8YTzHDuPBgDXc3ElkR

Listen to the Raising Health Podcast Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-health/id1529318900

Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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