Spotlight: Nikolas Yanek-Chrones @ Sunny Health AI

A spotlight is a short-form interview with a leader in health tech. In this spotlight, you'll hear from Nikolas Yanek-Chrones, co-founder and CTO at Sunny Health AI.

What does Sunny Health do?

We provide a healthcare concierge that understands your benefits, locates the best providers in your area, and coordinates appointments on your behalf.

How did you end up working in health tech?

A year ago, I was a solo founder building in the marine sciences space in close collaboration with Christian Johnson (GASP) and Dr. Allison Cusick (Fjord Phyto).

Sunny Health AI’s CEO Bilal Farooqui found me through his brother-in-law and my roommate at the time. Bilal’s passion and leadership were what initially drew me to work on Sunny Health. Our current team and the impact we’re having have reinforced that initial pull.

What’s one thing you wish you could change about U.S. healthcare?

Health Plan Identifiers (HPIDs) should be required for health plans.

The HPID was introduced in 2012, made unenforceable in 2014, and ultimately discarded in 2019. Their absence reduces the utility of HIPAA transactions, discourages competition by obscuring the true identity of the payer involved, and frustrates efforts to provide actionable insight to consumers.

What do you think U.S. healthcare will look like two years from now?

Generally, things will become more consolidated, especially vertically – with the exception of consumer experience.