◉ PSYCHOHISTORY

Truemed / Calley Means

playerMedia & Managed Opposition
A venture-backed startup lets you spend tax-free health savings on $1,000 cold plunges and Pelotons -- and its founder now helps run US health policy from inside the government.
Who they are

Truemed, a company co-founded in 2022 by Justin Mares and Calley Means, with Calley now a senior HHS advisor[1].[2][3][4][5][6]

What they do

The engine frames it as venture capital funding the dismantling of public-health infrastructure, with its architects now inside government.

How it works

Backed by $34 million in funding led by a16z and others, it uses 'Letters of Medical Necessity' to unlock tax-advantaged health-savings money - $147 billion in 2024, $174 billion by the end of 2025, a savings-account figure that does not include flexible spending accounts for unregulated wellness products like expensive saunas and cold plunges; Calley aims to redirect health spending into such accounts, citing $4.5 trillion - which is all US health spending, not Medicare and Medicaid, which together came to $1.75 trillion that year, while his sister Casey was nominated Surgeon General and, per a watchdog report, failed to disclose financial ties in 56% of relevant social-media posts, while his own stake stays hidden: the department says he will sell it, but his temporary-employee status let him skip public disclosure entirely, whereas hers is on a filed form at up to $50,000. In October 2025 a congressman and a senator wrote to the White House chief of staff and RFK Jr. asking how far Means had shaped the government's own health report while holding those interests, and demanding his financial disclosures be made public - sent the day after the New York Times reported he had left the White House. Nothing has been reported back, from that letter or from the four bodies that got the 2025 ethics complaint.

Why it matters

It shows investors profiting from wellness products while the people who built the business move into government to reshape health policy in its favor.

The engine's record — word for word
Founded 2022 by Justin Mares and Calley Means. $34M Series A (Dec 22 2025) led by a16z, with Bessemer Venture Partners, Long Journey Ventures, BoxGroup and Trust Ventures. Unlocks HSA balances for unregulated wellness products via Letter of Medical Necessity — $147B HSA (2024) -> $174B (2025) per Devenir; the figure is HSA-only, FSA balances are not in that survey — $1K cold plunges, five-figure saunas, Peloton, Eight Sleep. Calley: former food/pharma consultant. Sister Dr. Casey Means: Stanford surgeon who left profession, book "Good Energy." Calley goal: redirect health spending into flexible spending accounts — the $4.5T he cites is TOTAL US national health expenditure (CMS, 2022), not Medicare/Medicaid, which were $944.3B + $805.7B = $1.75T that year. Post-2024 HHS record: hired Mar 2025 as a Special Government Employee, reportedly stepped down around late Sept 2025 past the 130-day SGE limit, out by Oct 30 2025, re-hired Dec 2025 as a political appointee in Kennedy's office; Casey nominated Surgeon General (nomination withdrawn Apr 2026, replaced by Nicole Saphier). Public Citizen FTC report: Casey failed to disclose financial relationships in 56% (79/140) of social media posts. Divestiture from Truemed completely opaque — and it is CALLEY's that is opaque: HHS said he 'will divest', but his SGE status let him avoid public disclosure of his financial interests entirely. Casey's stake IS disclosed (OGE 278e, up to $50,000, ethics agreement Sept 10 2025). Public Citizen: Truemed 'relies on a legally dubious business model'. a16z venture capital funding dismantlement of public health infrastructure with architects now inside government. May 2025: Calley Means, while serving at HHS, pressed The Wellness Company to transact with Truemed and threatened litigation and departmental escalation when refused; TWC's CEO filed a federal ethics complaint. The two firms are competitors, not partners (see wellness_co). CONGRESSIONAL PROBE, 31 OCTOBER 2025: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and HHS Secretary Kennedy over Calley Means's conflicts of interest, asking 'To what extent was Mr. Means involved - directly or indirectly - in the drafting, revising, reviewing, or provision of feedback regarding the Make America Healthy Again report?', pressing on his role in the Make Our Children Healthy Again strategy, on whether he disclosed Truemed's parallel interests during policy discussions, and demanding public release of his financial disclosure forms. The letter notes his 130-day statutory SGE period should have ended around 25 July 2025. It landed the day after the New York Times reported he had left the White House. No outcome reported from it, nor from any of the four bodies that received Gillooly's May 2025 ethics complaint.
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