The Grand Roundup: CMMI's LEAD program and engaging specialists via CARA, MA final rates and benefit cuts, Teladoc's valuation conundrum, AI creating confusion in private markets, and SimpliFed's $10.8M Series A to extend OB care

The Grand Roundup | April 13, 2026

Kevin and Martin unpack the MA final rates reaction (2.48% and what it means for plans cutting benefits), break down ACO LEAD with Pearl Health's COO Gabe Drapos, and get the inside story on CARA, the specialist bundle component inside LEAD. Plus: Teladoc's activist investor drama, TrueHelm's growth equity thesis, Blues consolidation inadvertently accelerating, and SimpliFed's $10.8M Series A to extend from feeding support to OB care.

In this episode:

• MA final rates: 2.48%, benefit cuts, including BCBS MN beneficiaries losing Life Time memberships
• Pearl Health on ACO LEAD, AI-inferred risk, and what changes from REACH
• Manatt Health on CARA: how specialist bundles work inside LEAD
• Teladoc, BetterHelp, and the activist investor case for a PE buyout
• TrueHelm's Conor Green on health tech private markets and AI creating the most confusing environment in a decade
• Chapter's $100M raise, Blues consolidation, Function Health's Getlabs acquisition, Luminai raise + Cleveland Clinic partnership
• SimpliFed CEO Andrea Ippolito on their $10.8M Series A, expanding from lactation support to OB care, supported by AMA's vote to unbundle maternal care, and supporting 5% of US births

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