Dr. Casey Means, nominated by former President Donald Trump as the new Surgeon General, has a unique background in healthcare startups. Her most notable venture, Levels, a biowearable and health-tracking company, was cofounded in 2019 with tech entrepreneur Sam Corcos. Interestingly, Corcos is now a key figure within DOGE, a quasi-governmental agency led by Elon Musk, tasked with dismantling the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Means, a holistic medicine doctor, gained prominence through her involvement in the Trump-adjacent MAHA movement. At Levels, they developed a blood glucose tracker linked to a subscription app costing $400 per month. The company has attracted substantial investment, including a $12 million seed round and a Series A round, both led by Andreesen-Horowitz's venture capital arm, a16z. Marc Andreesen, a Trump advisor and influential figure in the tech-right movement, highlighted Levels' significance in an August 2024 press release. He stated, “Both the health of our people and the fiscal solvency of our country are at stake. Levels is a case study of the application of technology to both.” The connection between Means and Corcos is well-documented. Both describe themselves as cofounders and active employees of Levels on their LinkedIn profiles, with Corcos serving as the CEO. They frequently co-authored content on the Levels blog and co-hosted the company's podcast. In one instance, Corcos shared on LinkedIn last October, “Super proud to share that Levels Co-founder, Casey Means, MD, along with her brother, Calley Means, sat down with Joe Rogan to talk about the importance of metabolic health. It’s amazing to see the impact they’re making and how they’ve brought this pressing issue into the national conversation.” Means is now closely associated with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Her nomination followed the sudden withdrawal of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, the initial Surgeon General nominee, just a day before she was scheduled to testify in front of the Senate. Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor, is the sister-in-law of Mike Waltz, the former National Security Advisor. Waltz had previously fallen out of favor with the White House due to his involvement in the Signal-gate scandal, where he added a journalist to a classified group chat. Last week, Trump reassigned Waltz to be his Ambassador to the United Nations, a move perceived as a form of punishment. Corcos, in addition to his role at DOGE, serves as a special advisor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. DOGE, under Musk’s leadership, aims to significantly reduce the federal workforce. Corcos has emerged as a prominent figure in this effort, overseeing projects to consolidate all taxpayer data into a single, comprehensive database. This initiative, known as the "mega API" project, has sparked concern among security analysts and IRS engineers. They worry about the rapid implementation and the potential for any entity, including private companies and foreign governments, to access and export this data. According to a recent report in Wired, the speed and scale of DOGE's operations have alarmed experts. The consolidation of taxpayer data into one database raises significant privacy and security issues. Critics argue that such a centralized system could become a target for cyberattacks or misuse by unauthorized parties. The implications of this project extend beyond technological concerns, touching on broader issues of data sovereignty and individual privacy rights. This unusual pairing of a healthcare startup entrepreneur and a tech operative leading a controversial government data project highlights the intersection of private and public sectors in the current administration. As Means moves forward with her nomination, the ties between her and Corcos may come under increased scrutiny, particularly given the sensitive nature of their respective roles.