A Brave New Medicaid World | Waymark Co-founder & CEO Dr. Rajaie Batniji

One in four Americans relies on Medicaid, yet the program faces billions in federal funding cuts.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rajaie Batniji, co-founder and CEO of Waymark, about delivering tech-enabled community care to Medicaid patients.

We discuss what cuts to Medicaid could mean, the impact of "value veneers", and how predictive algorithms can overcome bias in healthcare delivery. Dr. Batniji also shares his personal connection to healthcare equity and his motivation for serving vulnerable populations despite investor skepticism about Medicaid-focused businesses.

We cover:

🏥 How to address the unique needs of Medicaid patients

💰 The potential impact of proposed $880 billion Medicaid cuts and why they may not generate real savings

🔄 The failures of Medicaid work requirements and why eligibility cuts won't reduce actual healthcare 

📊 What "value veneers" are, and how they are harmful to healthcare innovation

🌍 Advice for founders looking to serve the Medicaid population

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About our guest:

Dr. Rajaie Batniji is a physician, entrepreneur, and advocate for improving healthcare delivery. He is the co-founder and CEO of Waymark, a company providing tech-enabled community care for people on Medicaid. Previously, he co-founded Collective Health where he served as Chief Health Officer for eight years. He was also a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University in Medicine where he trained in internal medicine.

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Show notes:

• Supporting Rising-Risk Medicaid Patients Through Early Intervention (NEJM Catalyst)
• Geographic Variations and Facility Determinants of Acute Care Utilization and Spending for ACSCs (AJMC)
• Procedural Prescription Denials and Risk of Acute Care Utilization and Spending Among Medicaid Patients (JAMA Open)
• Value Veneers And How To Enable Value In Medicaid Care Delivery (Health Affairs)
• A Social ACO For Medicaid Managed Care (Health Affairs)
• The Public's View on Potential Changes to Medicaid (KFF)

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