Dr. Casey Means, recently nominated by Donald Trump for the position of Surgeon General, has a background rooted in healthcare startups, having co-founded a company with a prominent technology entrepreneur who is now a key figure at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), leading initiatives to streamline the IRS.
In 2019, Means, a doctor specializing in holistic medicine and associated with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, established Levels, a company focused on biowearables and health tracking. This venture was launched in collaboration with Sam Corcos, who is currently spearheading efforts at DOGE to develop a comprehensive API compiling American tax data. Levels’ flagship product, a blood glucose monitoring tracker, operates on a $400 subscription model and has garnered significant funding, including a notable $12 million seed round led by Andreessen-Horowitz’s venture capital firm, a16z.
Marc Andreessen, an advisor to Trump and influential figure within the tech community, emphasized the critical intersection of public health and national fiscal stability in a press release announcing Levels’ Series A extension in August 2024. He remarked, “Levels is a case study of the application of technology to both.”
The partnership between Corcos and Means is clear, as they both identify as co-founders and active participants of Levels on their LinkedIn profiles. Corcos serves as the CEO. Their collaborative efforts extend to shared contributions on the Levels blog and co-hosting a company podcast, as well as mutual endorsements of each other’s initiatives on social media. Last October, Corcos publicly praised Means and her family for discussing metabolic health on Joe Rogan’s podcast, highlighting their contribution to national dialogues on the topic.
With close ties to Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Means was appointed to the Surgeon General position after Trump unexpectedly withdrew his initial selection, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, the day before her scheduled Senate testimony. Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor, is also related to former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has recently faced criticism within the Trump administration.
Corcos, who additionally serves as a special advisor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, has become a visibility figure regarding DOGE, an agency led by Elon Musk aimed at reducing the federal workforce. According to reports, Corcos is tasked with centralizing all taxpayer information into a single database, a rapidly advancing initiative that has raised concerns about data security among analysts and IRS engineers.
