The a16z Show
Why America’s Health Crisis Is an Incentive Problem
The a16z Show discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This show is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!
Show Notes
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a16z general partner Erik Torenberg speaks with Justin Mares, founder and CEO of Truemed. They discuss why American health outcomes are so poor compared to the rest of the developed world, how crop subsidies created a food system that "systematically outputs unhealthy people," and what it would take to treat the chronic disease crisis as a national security issue. Mares explains how TrueMed allows people to spend tax-free HSA and FSA dollars on lifestyle interventions like gym memberships, sleep aids, and healthier food—and why he believes this could redirect hundreds of billions of dollars toward prevention. They also explore the case for psychedelics as mental health therapy and why peptides could disrupt the pharmaceutical industry.
Resources:
Follow Justin Mares on X: https://x.com/jwmares
Follow TrueMed on X: https://x.com/truemed
Timestamps:
— Introduction
— The Environment That Makes Us Sick
— What Went Wrong in the 1970s
— The Subsidy Problem
— Universal Ozempic Won't Save Us
— Building Truemed
— The Zoo Animal Theory of Human Health
— The Chronic Disease Crisis as National Security
— Psychedelics as Mental Health Therapy
— Why Peptides Will Disrupt Pharma
— Why Peptides Will Disrupt Pharma
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Find a16z on LinkedIn
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Follow our host: https://twitter.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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