January 10th in San Francisco, WinterTech 2018

Registration link

"WinterTech is up next, and we're extremely excited about the final agenda. The 2018 edition of WinterTech will be not only be focusing on the new investment treads in digital health, but will take a in-depth look into the revolution in choice within the consumer landscape and the rapid development of digital therapeutics.

Our jam-packed 1-day conference includes:

    •   Keynote presentation on how to create seamless health care experiences to meet the needs of consumers by Mark Ganz, CEO of Cambia Health.
    •   Panel discussion on the opportunities, roadblocks, and regulations within the field of digital therapeutics by Bakul Patel, Associate Director for Digital Health at the FDA.
    •   Investment Strategies Past and Present: a look into 2017 trends, surprises, and flops. plus predictions for 2018 by VC firms GE Ventures, Canaan, Fifty Years, NEA, and B Capital Group.
    •   Fireside chat between 4 VCs and their CEOs on their relationship and investment models
    •   Access to the Investor Breakfast where start-ups and investors discuss business models and explore portfolios. Start-ups apply here.
    •   Live demos from some of the most innovative companies in the digital healthcare space.

Don't miss out the hottest digital healthcare event focusing on investment in the space. Register today to take advantage of the early bird rate before prices increase after Friday, December 22nd."
__

See you there. I'm bringing with me Jeff Nyquist, PhD, founder and CEO of NeuroTrainer.com.

A NEW READ

Just downloaded this:

The Amazon blurb:

A brutally frank memoir about doctors and patients in a health care system that puts the poor at risk.

In medical charts, the term “N.A.D.” (No Apparent Distress) is used for patients who appear stable. The phrase also aptly describes America’s medical system when it comes to treating the underprivileged. Medical students learn on the bodies of the poor—and the poor suffer from their mistakes.

Rachel Pearson confronted these harsh realities when she started medical school in Galveston, Texas. Pearson, herself from a working-class background, remains haunted by the suicide of a close friend, experiences firsthand the heartbreak of her own errors in a patient’s care, and witnesses the ruinous effects of a hurricane on a Texas town’s medical system. In a free clinic where the motto is “All Are Welcome Here,” she learns how to practice medicine with love and tenacity amidst the raging injustices of a system that favors the rich and the white. No Apparent Distress is at once an indictment of American health care and a deeply moving tale of one doctor’s coming-of-age.

"the raging injustices of a system that favors the rich and the white."

I've been reading through the final cut of the reconciled and enrolled GOP tax cut bill, H.R. 1, just signed into law by the President. Couple of cuties:

SEC. 13202. MODIFICATIONS TO DEPRECIATION LIMITATIONS ON LUXURY AUTOMOBILES AND PERSONAL USE PROPERTY. 

(a) LUXURY AUTOMOBILES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—280F(a)(1)(A) is amended—
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘$2,560’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’,
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘$4,100’’ and inserting ‘‘$16,000’’,
(C) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘$2,450’’ and inserting ‘‘$9,600’’, and
(D) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘$1,475’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,760’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) Clause (ii) of section 280F(a)(1)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘$1,475’’ in the text and heading and inserting ‘‘$5,760’’.  (pp. 55-56)

and

SEC. 13822. AMOUNTS PAID FOR AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT SERVICES. 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No tax shall be imposed by this section or section 4271 on any amounts paid by an aircraft owner for aircraft management services related to—‘‘(i) maintenance and support of the aircraft owner’s aircraft, or ‘‘(ii) flights on the aircraft owner’s aircraft.
‘‘(B) AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT SERVICES.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘aircraft management services’ includes—‘‘(i) assisting an aircraft owner with administrative and support services, such as scheduling, flight planning, and weather forecasting, ‘‘(ii) obtaining insurance, ‘‘(iii) maintenance, storage and fueling of aircraft, ‘‘(iv) hiring, training, and provision of pilots and crew,‘‘(v) establishing and complying with safety standards, and‘‘(vi) such other services as are necessary to support flights operated by an aircraft owner.
‘‘(C) LESSEE TREATED AS AIRCRAFT OWNER.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘aircraft owner’ includes a person who leases the aircraft… (pp.129-130)

OK, [1] quadrupling the depreciation limits on "luxury automobiles," etc, and [2] making all private air travel, including personal/pleasure flights tax-deductible (private business travel is already deductible).

There's more, including the 100% 1st year write-off for capital equipment investments (say, like, automation / robotics that replace human workers), but that's enough for now.

Note:The "Personhood at Conception / Unborn Child Tax Credit" provision in the House bill got removed -- “an unborn child means a child in utero, and the term child in utero means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.“

Whatever.

Below, here is the post that got me onto this doc, Rachel Pearson.

As a Doctor, I’m Sick of All The Health Care Freeloaders
I work in a clinic where the vast majority of my patients are on government-funded health care and have never worked a day in their lives.

OH, AND, ONE MORE THING

The Ride of the Venture Valkyrie
From printed skin to augmented reality, Lisa Suennen channels her inner goddess to divine which health technologies people will actually use.

 Lisa will be onstage at WinterTech. I left a comment under this Medium article.
____________

More to come...