The transaction between Health Assurance Transformation Company (HATCo), a for-profit entity, and Summa Health, involving HATCo’s acquisition of the hospital network, is presently under regulatory scrutiny. HATCo’s parent company, General Catalyst has lauded the Trump administration, suggesting assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign. This campaign prominently features the HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his controversial pseudoscientific views. Yet, during the announcement of their shared vision of an advanced ‘health assurance’ system revolutionizing health care through technology and AI, General Catalyst and Summa have not delved into these contentious viewpoints.
General Catalyst, the venture capital firm financing HATCo’s acquisition of Summa Health — pending regulatory consent — has been persistently advocating for an evolved healthcare system embracing artificial intelligence in medical application. General Catalyst’s future-driven approach involves healthcare providers incorporating AI in their caregiving process and arming patients with AI tools to track their vital health signs.
Focusing on this changing dynamics, in 2024, General Catalyst introduced an initiative named the ‘General Catalyst Institute.’ The institution commissioned a report in March that claimed AI could be comprehensively integrated into the entire healthcare structure, provided the federal government eradicated the perceived obstructive regulations.
However, the implantation of AI in healthcare has evoked apprehensions among those opposed to Summa’s acquisition by HATCo. The criticisms have emerged due to concerns around diminishing quality of patient care and the associated job cuts.
The document from the General Catalyst Institute, crafted in consultation with a range of healthcare experts and entrepreneurs, also puts forth the proposal for expedited review and approval procedures for AI-led healthcare solutions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The report similarly articulates General Catalyst’s conjecture for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to adopt a supportive stand towards the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative, that’s advocated by President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The neutrality of the General Catalyst Institute is stressed by General Catalyst, but queries about its thoughts on Kennedy’s controversial stance on topics like vaccines, antidepressants, and the call for fluoride’s removal from public utilities remain unaddressed.
Enlightening the situation, a critic of the envisaged Summa-HATCo deal expressed that it didn’t come as a surprise to him that General Catalyst is working towards currying favor with the current government.
‘Had Kamala Harris won the election, the company would have likely pursued a similar strategy with her administration to garner support,’ the critic said. But concerns were raised as well: ‘The Summa instance sounds like a testing ground for experimental AI applications in healthcare, with little proven scientific backing.’