--- description: Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care title: Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc3b91d14ba195bc/6a5ff410b7c46c4c2121a292/image1_(3).png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care  Photo Credit: Zagnore Photo Credit: Zagnore Millions of Americans live with conditions their own health care system struggles to name. The scale is not in dispute. In 2023, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2025/24%5F0539.htm "undefined"), 76.4 percent of US adults, roughly 194 million people, reported at least one chronic condition, and more than half reported two or more. Chronic illness now drives 90 percent of the nation’s $5.3 trillion in annual health care spending. It is a problem of enormous scale, and it is the one [Seph Fontane Pennock](https://x.com/SephFontane "undefined") set out to address with his platform, [Regenerated.com](http://regenerated.com "undefined"). Within that population sits a smaller group whose experience is harder still. [The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association](https://autoimmune.org/advocacy/economic-effects-of-autoimmune-disease-research/ "undefined") estimates that autoimmune diseases affect approximately 50 million Americans, a figure the association notes is likely an underestimate given how difficult these conditions are to diagnose. Peer-reviewed estimates using electronic health records put the diagnosed figure lower, at over 15 million people, or 4.6 percent of the population, which tells you something about the problem itself. These diseases are hard to count because they are hard to identify. The diagnostic journey illustrates the gap. According to [AARDA data cited by the Benaroya Research Institute](https://www.benaroyaresearch.org/blog/diagnosing-autoimmune-diseases "undefined"), the average time to diagnosis for an autoimmune disease is 4.5 years, during which a patient typically sees four different doctors. Along the way, many are not believed. An AARDA survey found that 62 percent of autoimmune patients had been labeled chronic complainers or told they were overly concerned with their health. That sense of being dismissed extends well beyond autoimmune disease. A [2022 MITRE-Harris Poll on Patient Experience](https://www.mitre.org/news-insights/news-release/mitre-harris-poll-many-patients-feel-ignored-or-doubted "undefined") found that 52 percent of people in the United States feel their symptoms are ignored, dismissed, or not believed when seeking medical treatment. The same survey found that patients managing chronic conditions were among those most likely to encounter doubt or bias at the point of care. When the conventional system cannot provide answers, patients look elsewhere. Many turn to regenerative and functional medicine, a sector that has grown quickly and, in parts, without close supervision. Firm baseline estimates placed the North American market at over [USD 21 billion in 2025](https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/regenerative-medicine-market-size-to-surpass-usd-234-85-billion-by-2035-as-ai-stem-cell-therapy-and-3d-bioprinting-revolutionize-healthcare "undefined"), with the U.S. sector expanding rapidly. Driven by breakthroughs in stem cell therapy and gene editing, industry analysts project the global market will grow by more than 17% annually, surging toward an estimated USD 234 billion over the next decade. Whatever the precise number, the direction is consistent: the market is large, resilient, and expanding. However, some observers have suggested that regulatory oversight has not always kept pace with the rapid growth of the sector. By offering unapproved stem cell treatments, these bad actors have eroded trust among consumers and policymakers alike, prompting urgent calls for stricter enforcement and better patient education. For a patient already exhausted by years of searching, the absence of an independent standard is not simply a theoretical concern. According to the company, it can be an important factor when evaluating the credibility of a provider. This is the gap Seph Fontane Pennock built Regenerated.com to close. Each clinic is assessed against five criteria covering credentials, evidence, transparency, outcomes, and integrity. According to the company, every provider is checked against the federal National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry and the Office of Inspector General’s exclusion list as part of its verification process. Treatments carry evidence ratings that may help distinguish between approaches that are supported by more established evidence and those that are still emerging or under investigation. Listings that fail the standard do not appear. Fontane Pennock is careful about what Regenerated.com is and is not. It does not position itself as a regulator. Its function is narrower and, for patients, more immediate. Regenerated.com gives people a way to evaluate providers before they spend money or undergo treatment, in a market where that information has long been scattered across patient forums, clinic marketing pages, and paywalled publications. The platform also reflects its founder’s own history as a patient. Fontane Pennock spent years navigating regenerative medicine clinics across multiple countries in search of treatment, an experience that showed him the size of the information gap firsthand. He has said the standards behind Regenerated.com are the ones he wishes someone had applied on his behalf. Regenerated.com is the most recent of three companies Seph Fontane Pennock has built, and the throughline between them is consistent. He founded [FatFIRE.com](http://fatfire.com "undefined"), a private, vetted community for people who have reached financial independence and want genuine peers rather than an audience. Each began the same way, with a gap between what patients and practitioners needed and what the existing system offered. That pattern frames what Regenerated.com is trying to be. Not a cure, and not a replacement for medical judgment, but a layer of independent information in a market that has lacked one. _This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider._ Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/apg/seph-fontane-pennock-and-the-case-for-independent-vetting-in-american-health-care/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/apg/seph-fontane-pennock-and-the-case-for-independent-vetting-in-american-health-care/"},"headline":"Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care","datePublished":"2026-07-24T17:19:17.334Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T22:38:16.866Z","description":"Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/apg/seph-fontane-pennock-and-the-case-for-independent-vetting-in-american-health-care/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/apg/seph-fontane-pennock-and-the-case-for-independent-vetting-in-american-health-care/","name":"Seph Fontane Pennock and the Case for Independent Vetting in American Health Care"}}]}] ```