January 16th Pulse Check
Hey y’all,
This week has been a reminder that momentum and volatility can coexist. Federal health funding decisions are shifting rapidly. AI companies are racing to build healthcare infrastructure. Atlanta's life sciences district keeps growing.
It's a lot. But that's also why this community matters. When things move fast and the ground keeps shifting, having people to think through it with makes the difference.
This week we're covering federal funding uncertainty, the Anthropic vs OpenAI healthcare plays, Trump's latest healthcare plan, and Portal Atlanta's continued growth at Science Square.
Plus a member spotlight on one of our favorite people, Mary Dinnean.
If something sparks your interest, reach out.
Nadine Peever, Executive Director & Co-Founder
This Week in Health Innovation
🏛️ Federal Funding Watch: What It Means for Health Innovation
Congress has two weeks to finalize FY26 appropriations, including the package that funds CDC, NIH, and the federal health innovation ecosystem.
The big picture: Final funding levels aren't set. The Senate's earlier bill had modest increases for prevention, maternal health, and research infrastructure, but those are still being negotiated.
What's happening: HHS just whipsawed the field twice in one month.
Cancelled $2 billion in mental health and substance use grants with zero warning
Reversed the cuts 24 hours later after bipartisan blowback
Reinstated all recently laid-off National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) staff
Why it matters: Recent reversals show advocacy works and technical expertise still has defenders. But the volatility makes planning nearly impossible for organizations mid-grant cycle.
What to watch:
Full-year funding vs. stopgap: Determines timing for new grants and pilots
NIH forward funding language: Needed for multi-year awards that startups and research teams rely on
HHS guidance: May re-release paused funding opportunities
CDC priorities: Budget language will reveal which areas get near-term innovation investments
The bottom line: The funding environment is unstable, but the infrastructure that supports health innovation continues drawing bipartisan attention as the January 30 deadline approaches.
✨ Anthropic launched Claude for Healthcare a few days after OpenAI's ChatGPT Health and OpenAI for Healthcare. The timing wasn't coincidental.
What happened: OpenAI released tools for both consumers and healthcare organizations. Anthropic skipped consumers entirely and went straight to providers and payers.
The difference:
ChatGPT Health: Consumer-facing with a waitlist. 230 million people already ask health questions on ChatGPT weekly.
OpenAI for Healthcare: HIPAA-ready enterprise tools that let healthcare organizations use ChatGPT and the OpenAI API for clinical work, research, and administrative tasks without blowing compliance requirements.
Anthropic: HIPAA-ready tools for providers and payers. Connectors to CMS databases, ICD-10, FHIR.
The bottom line: Anthropic is playing the infrastructure game while OpenAI chases consumer volume. Healthcare's 2027 FHIR deadline gives Anthropic a concrete regulatory hook.
💊 Trump announced "The Great Healthcare Plan" on Thursday, calling on Congress to act on a series of healthcare proposals.
Key provisions:
Codify "most-favored-nation" drug pricing deals to match prices in other countries
Expand over-the-counter availability for certain medicines
Restructure subsidies to flow directly to consumers rather than insurers
Fund ACA cost-sharing reduction program, potentially reducing premiums 10-15%
Require insurers to publicly disclose claim payment rates and denial frequencies
What's not included:
Extension of expired ACA subsidies, a priority for Democrats
Major changes to Medicare, Medicaid, or employer-based coverage
Mandatory price reductions for hospitals or physicians
Why it matters: The plan addresses Republican concerns about healthcare costs ahead of midterm elections. However, its approach differs significantly from Democratic priorities on ACA subsidy extension, which has been the focus of bipartisan Senate negotiations.
Congressional reaction: "Does this set things back if he signals he does not support extending the subsidies? That's the basis of our plan here," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), one of the negotiators.
What's next: The plan faces an uncertain path forward given the partisan divide on key provisions. Republicans emphasize the plan's focus on transparency and consumer choice, while Democrats argue subsidy extension is essential to maintain coverage gains.
Read more →
Portal Atlanta at Science Square hit 32 member companies just 15 months after launch. Seven joined in January alone.
What happened: Portal Innovations announced continued growth at Science Square, with 32 biotech, medtech, digital health, and cleantech organizations now in the ecosystem. (Shoutout to Eddie Lai, Bonne Fire ATL advisor and Portal's Director of Business Development, who's been building this from the ground up.)
Why Atlanta's working: Many startups are led by founders with strong engineering backgrounds. Access to Georgia Tech, Emory, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, and Atlanta's HBCUs provides research and talent pipeline. Shriners Children's at Science Square anchors clinical expertise directly in the district.
The infrastructure advantage: The proximity to clinicians and healthcare infrastructure helps startups translate engineering innovation into medical technologies faster.
What's next: Science Square has four additional phases planned, aiming for 1.3 million square feet total. Phase two design could start this year with 200,000 square feet of additional lab and office space.
The bottom line: Science Square is becoming what Portal Innovations CEO John Flavin calls the "nerve center" of Georgia's life sciences ecosystem. Real brick-and-mortar, not just promises.
January Member Spotlight: Mary Dinnean
Mary Dinnean came to Atlanta by way of Boston Children's Hospital and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, where she watched healthcare affordability become a crisis in real time. Now she's a Director of Strategic Business Initiatives at Elevance Health and a Flare Scholar with Flare Capital Partners, working on the problem that keeps her up at night: how to make healthcare more affordable while improving the actual care experience. We talked to Mary about what she's building, the connections that matter, and why she thinks robotic innovation in elderly care deserves more attention.
Continue Reading...
Mark Your Calendar
Below is just a snapshot of what’s coming up. Check out the events calendar on our website to stay up-to-date on our upcoming events!
🔥 January Happy Hour
January 29th | 5:30pm
You know the drill. This is our usual, no frills, monthly happy hour. We’ll be at Krog Street Market, right on the beltline. RSVP
Interested in Sponsoring an Event? Drop Us a Note!
Looking to get your brand in front of healthcare's most innovative thinkers? 👀 Skip the typical conference chaos and connect directly with the innovators reshaping healthcare.
You can simply pick up the tab at one of our existing events, or we can plan something more elaborate together. Shoot us a note at hello@bonnefireatl.com if you’re interested!
