DIY health creates prevention-focused power users.
Thesis. In its Big Ideas 2026 outlook, Andreessen Horowitz partner Julie Yoo outlines how health-seeking consumers could reshape a system built for sick care.
Reframing healthcare through SaaS metrics, Yoo coins “healthy MAUs” (monthly active users): people who aren’t actively sick but want to proactively track, understand, and manage their well-being.
Mismatch. Traditional healthcare optimizes for acute episodes and chronic disease. A small slice of the population drives the majority of spend — roughly 5% of patients account for about half of all healthcare costs, with the top 1% responsible for more than 20%.
Rewarding treatment over prevention, proactive check-ins, ongoing monitoring, and early detection are undercovered by insurance and deprioritized by providers.
Realignment. That dynamic is starting to change. AI is lowering the cost of care delivery, consumers are increasingly willing to pay out of pocket, and new insurance models are emerging — making preventative care economically viable.
Opportunity. For builders, healthy MAUs could become the largest and most valuable user base in healthtech: highly engaged, data-informed, and focused on staying well. Expect AI-native startups and retooled incumbents to chase this cohort.
Punchline: If healthcare has historically monetized sickness, healthy MAUs flip the model — turning prevention into a habit, and adherence into the business.