📣 Digital Health Download: June 2026

Healthcare is simultaneously propping up the US economy and facing one of its most uncertain moments in years.

This month, Halle and Steve unpack the growing contradictions shaping digital health right now: healthcare jobs are driving nearly half of US job growth while provider bankruptcies surge, AI is flooding into healthcare faster than regulators can keep up, and Washington continues to send mixed signals on the future of healthcare policy and innovation.

We cover:

• Why healthcare jobs are now carrying the US labor market and what Medicaid cuts could mean for the economy
• The surprising comeback of wearables and how companies like Whoop, Oura, and Google are building massive subscription businesses
• CMS’s new ACCESS model and the debate over whether AI-driven care can actually lower costs without sacrificing quality
• The lawsuit against Character.AI and what it reveals about the growing demand for AI mental health tools
• Why investors are pouring billions into AI drug discovery despite huge unanswered questions about clinical development
• Marty Makary’s resignation from the FDA and what ongoing instability means for biotech, pharma, and healthcare innovation

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Show notes:

• Forget Tech and Hollywood. California Is Powered by Healthcare Jobs. (WSJ)
• Oura Debuts Ring 5, Ahead of Potential IPO (WWD)
• Whoop Raises $575 Million at $10.1 Billion Valuation (Whoop)
• Fitbit Ditches the Screen With Its New $99 Whoop Rival (PC Mag)
• Why big digital health players are missing from Medicare’s chronic care experiment (STAT)
• Character.AI Lawsuit (PA.gov)
• Marty Makary out as FDA chief (Axios)

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