Entrepreneurs show diagnostics, wearables and AI pilots; liability and reimbursement emerge as scaling obstacles
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Summary
Panelists from Calvary, Doctronic, Whoop, Regenesis and Banner Health described early‑detection tests, AI‑enabled renewals, wearable engagement tactics and state 'sandboxes' that can accelerate pilots — while highlighting liability, reimbursement and adoption barriers.
Entrepreneurs and health‑system leaders at the Joint Economic Committee described multiple pilots and commercialization strategies they say could expand preventive care and reduce downstream costs — but they also identified legal, payment and adoption hurdles that could block scale.
Terrence O'Neil, director of operations at Calvary, described an RNA‑based, multi‑cancer early‑detection platform the company says can detect stage‑1 cancers from small blood samples. O'Neil said the company has peer‑reviewed publications and is targeting a much lower per‑test cost than many existing options; he told the committee the goal is "under $100" per test once deployed at scale. The chair and others pressed O'Neil on sample collection, turnaround and sensitivity; O'Neil said the test can be performed from a small at‑home blood sample and the target turnaround is on the order of a week.
Adam Moskowitz (Doctronic) and other panelists described regulatory experiments—most notably Utah’s sandbox—that allowed AI‑assisted auto‑renewal pilots. Moskowitz said the company initially screened roughly the 300 most‑prescribed medications, removed narcotics, scheduled drugs, ADHD medications and injectables, and narrowed to a 191‑drug formulary with renewal limits and monitoring. He said Surescripts was used to reduce duplicate fills. Moskowitz also said his company assumed liability in pilots and purchased AI malpractice coverage to address tort exposure.
Jonathan Jeffrey (Whoop) emphasized that data, an AI layer and daily user engagement are the three elements that determine whether wearable data become actionable. He described product incentives—Whoop gives employees payments for sustained sleep scores—as examples of how behavior and engagement can be improved. Tom Eisenminger (Regenesis Medical) highlighted noninvasive devices for diabetic neuropathy intended for home use and urged value‑based contracts that pay only for devices that demonstrably help patients.
Amy Perry (Banner Health) outlined a provider‑insurer perspective: Banner is shifting from fee‑for‑service toward premium‑based models to invest in prevention but cautioned that liability, reimbursement and alignment of incentives are central barriers. On liability, the panel agreed sandboxes sometimes provide modified legal protections but do not uniformly replicate the malpractice limits that protect physicians; Moskowitz said his company explicitly accepted responsibility for renewals in his pilot.
No formal votes or regulatory changes occurred at the briefing; panelists were asked to submit papers and supporting materials for follow‑up work by the committee.
