Latest news with #transparency
Forbes
an hour ago
- Business
- Forbes
Bitcoin Is Quietly Entering The Healthcare Sector
Bitcoin has made inroads into finance, energy, and even politics. Now, a growing number of healthcare companies are embracing it. Not only as a hedge or a balance sheet asset, but also as a guiding philosophy and potential infrastructure layer. The move may seem unlikely, given healthcare's deeply regulated and bureaucratic nature. But that's precisely the point. For companies like CrowdHealth and Semler Scientific, Bitcoin's appeal isn't speculative. It's structural. In a sector inundated with reverse incentives, opaque pricing, and costly middlemen, Bitcoin offers transparency. The U.S. healthcare system is worth roughly $5 trillion, averaging over $17,000 per person. Even with the high costs associated with health insurance, claims are often denied. Andy Schoonover, founder and CEO of CrowdHealth, experienced this firsthand. His insurer refused to pay an $8,000 bill for his daughter's ear tube surgery, despite doctors deeming it medically necessary. Soon after, he dropped his insurance and began building a cash-pay model that eventually became CrowdHealth. A peer-to-peer platform where members fund one another's healthcare needs. In this process, he found a natural audience among bitcoiners. Schoonover, who told Forbes in an interview he holds roughly 80% of his liquid assets in Bitcoin, says the overlap wasn't accidental. 'Bitcoiners understand incentives,' he said. Schoonover believes that as patients dig deeper into the healthcare system, it becomes clear that hospitals, health networks, and government policies often work against patients' best interests. A pattern quickly recognized by bitcoiners. CrowdHealth allows members to pay a monthly fee, directly contributing to each other's care. In return, they avoid premiums and networks. Schoonover said their model has grown to over 10,000 members. CrowdHealth is leaning further into Bitcoin by letting users invest unused healthcare funds into bitcoin. The long-term vision, according to Schoonover, is Bitcoin circularity in healthcare. 'If we can build bitcoin circularity within healthcare we believe that will go a long way in normalizing bitcoin as a medium of exchange,' Schoonover said. Unlike insurance, CrowdHealth doesn't guarantee payment. However, Schoonover claims that the community fully funds over 99% of eligible bills. While CrowdHealth integrates Bitcoin at the user level, Semler Scientific takes a top-down approach. The publicly traded medtech company adopted Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset in 2024, becoming one of the first healthcare companies to do so. For Semler chairman Eric Semler, Bitcoin represents resilience, scarcity, and alignment, traits sorely lacking in the healthcare system. 'Bitcoin is monetary freedom,' Semler told Forbes. 'We're freeing people medically through early detection, and Bitcoin helps us stay strong financially.' The company's core product, QuantaFlo, is an FDA-cleared diagnostic tool for vascular disease. It enables early detection of cardiovascular issues, allowing for timely and potentially life-saving interventions. Semler emphasized the importance of early detection and noted that healthcare could benefit from adopting principles found in Bitcoin's design, such as decentralization, transparency, and reducing reliance on middlemen. In an interview with Forbes, Eric Semler of Semler Scientific explained that their Bitcoin strategy isn't just about protecting cash in an inflationary environment. It's about owning the digital future. The company is exploring ways to mine Bitcoin creatively and integrate value into its shareholder model. 'We're in acceleration mode,' Semler said. 'We're not just buying Bitcoin, we're adding value to our value.' In 2023, Semler became active in the company his father had founded. He joined the board to improve capital allocation and saw Bitcoin as the obvious next step, following Michael Saylor's Strategy concept. 'It was a last resort in the best way.' Bitcoin offered a neutral reserve asset with no counterparty exposure or political entanglements, making it a good fit. Despite its early-mover status, Semler Scientific remains a rarity. Semler said that few medtech or biotech peers have followed suit. One exception is KindlyMD, a company that shares philosophical alignment but little market overlap. Still, he believes healthcare is well-positioned to lead a treasury shift. Healthcare companies generate steady cash flow, operate under strict regulations, and require long-term resilience, which according to Semler, makes Bitcoin a natural fit. That shift may be slow, but for now, Semler is content leading the charge. The future of Bitcoin in healthcare, according to companies like CrowdHealth and Semler Scientific, is not about layering crypto onto a broken system. It is about rebuilding that system from the ground up using first principles. They see Bitcoin with the potential to help make healthcare more affordable, build trust by putting patients in control, protect savings from inflation, and support better systems for sharing medical information. Schoonover envisions a future where bitcoiners fund one another's procedures and doctors accept bitcoin directly, cutting out insurers entirely. Semler imagines a more robust, future-proof treasury model that gives healthcare companies stronger balance sheets and global leverage. Bitcoin won't eliminate the need for regulation, nor will it immediately replace legacy players. But it does offer some interesting options. The examples of CrowdHealth and Semler Scientific suggest that some healthcare companies are exploring Bitcoin not for its popularity, but as a response to challenges in the current system.
LBCI
5 hours ago
- General
- LBCI
Australia's Defense Minister urges greater military openness from China
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Saturday urged greater transparency from China over its military modernization and deployments as Pacific nations brace for a more assertive Chinese presence. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, Marles said that while China remains an important strategic partner to Australia, more open communication between the two nations is key for a "productive" relationship. "When you look at the growth in the Chinese military that has happened without a strategic reassurance, or a strategic would like to have a greater transparency in what China is seeking to do in not only its build up, but in the exercises that it undertakes," said Marles. Reuters
Al Arabiya
12 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Australia's defense minister urges greater military openness from China
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Saturday urged greater transparency from China over its military modernization and deployments as Pacific nations brace for a more assertive Chinese presence. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, Marles said that while China remains an important strategic partner to Australia, more open communication between the two nations is key for a 'productive' relationship. 'When you look at the growth in the Chinese military that has happened without a strategic reassurance, or a strategic transparency.... we would like to have a greater transparency in what China is seeking to do in not only its build up, but in the exercises that it undertakes,' said Marles. 'We want to have the most productive relationship with China that we can have ... we hope that in the context of that productive relationship, we can see greater transparency and greater communication between our two countries in respect of our defense.' Both Australia and New Zealand raised concerns in February after three Chinese warships conducted unprecedented live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. Both nations complained of late notice over the drills by China, which led to the diversion of 49 commercial flights. Marles said that while the drills were in accordance with international law, China should have been less disruptive. He also said Australia was able to closely scrutinize the Chinese task-force. 'It's fair to say that this was done in a bigger way than they have done before, but equally, that was meant from our point of view, by a much greater degree of surveillance than we've ever done,' he said. 'From the moment that Chinese warships came within the vicinity of Australia, they were being tailed and tracked by Australian assets ... we were very clear about what exercises China was undertaking and what capability they were seeking to exercise and to build.' Chinese officials have signaled that more such exercises could be expected as it was routine naval activity in international waters. Defense analysts say the exercises underscore Beijing's ambition to develop a global navy that will be able to project power into the region more frequently. Australia has in recent times pledged to boost its missile defense capability amid China's nuclear weapons buildup and its blue-water naval expansion, as the country targets to increase its defense spending from roughly 2 percent of GDP currently to 2.4 percent by the early 2030s. The nation is scheduled to pay the United States $2 billion by the end of 2025 to assist its submarine shipyards, in order to buy three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines starting in 2032 - its biggest ever defense project.
CNA
12 hours ago
- General
- CNA
Australia's defence minister urges greater military openness from China
SINGAPORE: Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles on Saturday (May 31) urged greater transparency from China over its military modernisation and deployments as Pacific nations brace for a more assertive Chinese presence. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, Marles said that while China remains an important strategic partner to Australia, more open communication between the two nations is key for a "productive" relationship. "When you look at the growth in the Chinese military that has happened without a strategic reassurance, or a strategic transparency ... we would like to have a greater transparency in what China is seeking to do in not only its build up, but in the exercises that it undertakes," said Marles. "We want to have the most productive relationship with China that we can have ... we hope that in the context of that productive relationship, we can see greater transparency and greater communication between our two countries in respect of our defence." Both Australia and New Zealand raised concerns in February after three Chinese warships conducted unprecedented live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. Both nations complained of late notice over the drills by China, which led to the diversion of 49 commercial flights. Marles said that while the drills were in accordance with international law, China should have been less disruptive. He also said Australia was able to closely scrutinise the Chinese task force. "It's fair to say that this was done in a bigger way than they have done before, but equally, that was meant from our point of view, by a much greater degree of surveillance than we've ever done," he said. "From the moment that Chinese warships came within the vicinity of Australia, they were being tailed and tracked by Australian assets ... we were very clear about what exercises China was undertaking and what capability they were seeking to exercise and to build." Chinese officials have signalled that more such exercises could be expected as it was routine naval activity in international waters. Defence analysts say the exercises underscore Beijing's ambition to develop a global navy that will be able to project power into the region more frequently. Australia has in recent times pledged to boost its missile defence capability amid China's nuclear weapons buildup and its blue-water naval expansion, as the country targets to increase its defence spending from roughly 2 per cent of GDP currently to 2.4 per cent by the early 2030s. The nation is scheduled to pay the United States US$2 billion by the end of 2025 to assist its submarine shipyards, in order to buy three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines starting in 2032 - its biggest defence project.
Independent Singapore
12 hours ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
PAP's Goh Pei Ming is one of the highest election spenders with over S$100K spent, despite getting into Parliament by walkover
SINGAPORE: People's Action Party (PAP) candidate Goh Pei Ming has emerged as the top spender in the first tranche of declared expenses from the 2025 General Election, chalking up S$104,085 on his campaign alone. His spending, more than four times the average of S$25,285 among the 35 candidates who have submitted returns so far, places him well above the rest in a disclosure exercise meant to ensure transparency in political financing. According to figures published by the Elections Department (ELD) on May 28, more than half of Mr Goh's declared expenditure went to non-online election advertising, such as physical banners, posters, pamphlets, and other ground campaign materials. Mr Goh, a former Chief of Staff in the Singapore Armed Forces, contested under the PAP banner in the Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC. His team was the only one to win by walkover on Nomination Day, meaning they were elected uncontested. Despite not having to campaign against opposing parties in the polls, the team collectively spent S$388,756 on election-related activities, among the highest totals submitted so far in this year's election cycle. All candidates are required under Singapore law to submit a declaration of their election spending and donations by June 16, as part of efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in political financing. While campaign advertising remained the largest category of expenditure across all submissions, the amount spent by Mr Goh and his team stands out, particularly given the uncontested nature of their win. The remaining 176 candidates who participated in GE2025 have either not yet submitted their returns or are awaiting publication in the Government Gazette. The ELD has made the available declarations accessible via its online portal for public inspection using Singpass credentials.
