Health & Veritas

Howie and Harlan discuss the roots of the crisis in emergency departments, the lack of oversight for hydration spas, new approaches in blood pressure treatment, an ingenious method to prevent malaria, and the CDC’s backward steps on vaccines. Links: Emergency Departments “I'm an ER doctor. JD Vance's claims about immigrants and wait times are just wrong.” “It’s Just a Virus, the E.R. Told Him. Days Later, He Was Dead.” Video of Ron Paul: “Should society let uninsured die?” American College of Emergency Physicians: Understanding EMTALA “Explaining the G.O.P.’s Misleading Talking Point on the Looming Shutdown” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid: Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) Health & Veritas Ep. 188: Kate Heilpern: Jumping into the Deep End Health & Veritas Ep. 47: Dr. Jeremy Faust: Is COVID Over? It's Complicated. Jeremy Faust: “Inside Medicine Read-Through: Commentary on the New York Times article about a tragic ER case” Harlan Krumholz: “Early Warning Scores With and Without Artificial Intelligence” Howard Forman: “Why Hospitals Need to Stop Boarding Patients in Emergency Rooms” Howard Forman: “How to Keep Emergency Rooms Focused on True Emergencies” The Revolving Door “Peter Marks, FDA vaccine regulator ousted by RFK Jr., joins Eli Lilly” Peter Marks Resignation Letter “Peter Marks, FDA’s top vaccine regulator, forced out” “Fired C.D.C. Director Describes Clashes With Kennedy and Turmoil at Agency” “Ex-CDER chief Patrizia Cavazzoni becomes Pfizer’s chief medical officer” Hydration Spas Howard Forman: “State Policies and Facility Practices of IV Hydration Spas in the US” Health & Veritas Ep. 123: Margo Harrison: Women’s Health as a Path to Empowerment “Hydration spas are largely unregulated, study finds” New Developments in Blood Pressure Treatment “Baxdrostat met the primary endpoint in Bax24 Phase III trial in patients with resistant hypertension” “AstraZeneca's $1.3B bet yields 2nd phase 3 blood pressure win, bolstering differentiation case” Harlan Krumholz: “The Disquieting Plateau” “Under new guidelines, more Americans meet the criteria for high blood pressure” “2025 AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines” “Permethrin-Treated Baby Wraps for the Prevention of Malaria” AI in Medicine: Doximity, OpenEvidence, and UpToDate “OpenEvidence raises $210M, unveils AI agents built for advanced medical research” Health & Veritas, Ep. 183: Seth Berkowitz: The Power Problem “Doximity buys Pathway Medical for $63 million to help doctors get AI-powered answers” “A long-trusted physician’s reference finally catches the AI wave” Congenital syphilis Health & Veritas Ep. 178: Sarah DeSilvey: Creating Space for Healing “Are STIs truly declining, or is our data just not very good? What the 2024 CDC STI report really shows” “Why Syphilis Cases in Newborns Are Rising Even as STIs Decline” MMR Vaccine “Acting CDC director calls to 'break up' the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots” “Worried about splitting up the MMR vaccine into three separate shots? You should be, this doctor says” “More measles cases confirmed in South Carolina, Michigan as US total climbs to 1,563” Nobel Prizes and Science at Yale “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Is Awarded for Work on Immune Systems” “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025” “Yale’s Michel H. Devoret wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Vanessa Cooper, a Yale School of Medicine neurologist, to discuss the causes of migraines and promising new treatments for the disorder. Harlan discusses his approach as a journal editor to the use of AI in academic writing; Howie reports on the premium tax credits for insurance purchased through Affordable Care Act exchanges that are at stake in the government shutdown.  Links: The Government Shutdown “Government Shutdown Live Updates” “The US government has shut down. Here's what to know”  “Watch: Hegseth rails against 'beardos' and 'woke' at gathering of US generals”  Harlan Krumholz: “Tools, Not Ghosts: Artificial Intelligence, Writing, and Responsibility” Headaches “The global prevalence of headache: an update, with analysis of the influences of methodological factors on prevalence estimates”  “Migraine with aura”  “General neurology: Current challenges and future implications” “Eleven Reasons People Decide to Choose Headache Medicine: There May Be a Headache Medicine Provider Shortage but there are Ways to Foster Interest” “How to Find the Right Doctor for Proper Migraine Management” Cleveland Clinic: Chronic Migraine Mayo Clinic: Cluster headache Mayo Clinic: Trigeminal neuralgia” “Migraine With Aura” American Headache Society: Types of Aura “Rethinking migraine with aura: Why cortical spreading depolarization (depression), not aura, causes headaches” “Effects of anti-epileptic drugs on spreading depolarization-induced epileptiform activity in mouse hippocampal slices” “CGRP Inhibitors” “Top migraine medication effective for preventing migraines, treating drug-induced headaches is hard to access”  “Review: An Update on CGRP Monoclonal Antibodies for the Preventive Treatment of Episodic Migraine”  International Neuromodulation Society: About Neuromodulation American Association of Neurological Surgeons: Vagus Nerve Stimulation Cefaly Gammacore American Headache Society: First Contact: Headache in Primary Care ACA Tax Credits and the Government Shutdown “Why ACA tax credits for 22 million Americans are at the center of the government shutdown drama” “Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance 101” Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Medicare Monthly Enrollment Medicaid.gov: June 2025 Medicaid & CHIP Enrollment Data Highlights “ACA Marketplace Premium Payments Would More than Double on Average Next Year if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire” “The Estimated Effects of Enacting Selected Health Coverage Policies on the Federal Budget and on the Number of People With Health Insurance” “How an ACA Premium Spike Will Affect Family Budgets, and Voters” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Kate Heilpern, president of Yale New Haven Hospital, to discuss the innovation and adaption needed to lead NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Yale New Haven Health structures itself to provide quality care across five hospitals. Harlan reflects on the many biotech startups emerging from Yale; Howie responds to the Trump administration's assertion of a link between acetaminophen and autism.  Links: Biotech at Yale and Beyond “Investors Flock Back to Biotech After a Long, Cold Spell “Boom, Bust and Recover: What Happens Next as Biotech VC Cycle Resets”. “Pfizer to Buy Weight-Loss Drug Developer Metsera for Up to $7.3 Billion” Yale Ventures Health & Veritas Ep. 80: Josh Geballe: Turning Yale Innovation into Startups Yale Ventures Annual Report 2025 Cloverleaf Bio Allyx Therapeutics EvolveImmune Therapeutics Normunity Inozyme Pharma “BioMarin to buy rare disease drugmaker Inozyme for $270M” “Estimated Research and Development Investment Needed to Bring a New Medicine to Market, 2009-2018” Kate Heilpern “Yale New Haven Hospital announces new president” “Yale New Haven Health announces Katherine Heilpern, MD, as the new president of Yale New Haven Hospital” “Heilpern sees society reflected in the busy ER” “Meet the Heroes Fighting on the Front Lines Against Covid-19” “’Adrenaline, Duty, and Fear’: Inside a New York Hospital Taking on the Coronavirus” Health & Veritas Ep. 116: Christopher O’Connor: Hospital Leadership in Trying Times “Saving America's ERs” “The 600 Pathways Yale New Haven Health Takes to Improved Care Delivery” Tylenol and Autism “Trump Issues Warning Based on Unproven Link Between Tylenol and Autism” “Trump links autism and Tylenol: is there any truth to it?” “Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability” “Study reveals no causal link between neurodevelopmental disorders and acetaminophen exposure before birth” “Does Stress Cause Ulcers?” “The Effect of Vitamin E and Beta Carotene on the Incidence of Lung Cancer and Other Cancers in Male Smokers” “The U.S. government has jumped the public health shark” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Medicine geriatrician Barry Wu, who provides a framework for family caregivers and physicians to understand the needs of older adults. Harlan reports on Congress's shifting approach to funding research; Howie reflects on a survey showing that many college students believe that violence is an acceptable way to protest a campus speaker. Links: Congressional Directives on Funding Research House Appropriations Committee Press Release: “Committee Approves FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act” “Report of the Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives” “House Committee on Appropriations Approves FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor HHS) Appropriations Bill & Accompanying Report” Supporting Older Adults John A. Hartford Foundation: Age-Friendly Care Barry Wu: “Medical students applying the 4Ms during their first week of school” “Caregiving from 460 Miles Away: A Geriatrician’s Experience Caring for His Mother” “2020 Census: 1 in 6 People in the United States Were 65 and Over” “The Paradoxical Decline of Geriatric Medicine as a Profession” Violence and Speech “What You Need to Know About Charlie Kirk’s Assassination” “Student acceptance of violence in response to speech hits a record high” “Yale Political Union attendees challenge King’s son on nonviolence” ACA Subsidies “ObamaCare fight meets shutdown politics: What to know”  “Congressional District Interactive Map: How Much Will ACA Premium Payments Rise if Enhanced Subsidies Expire?” “Explaining the Muddle on ACA Tax Credits” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by physician, scientist, and author Eric Topol to discuss his new book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity; the potential of individualized polygenic risk scores; and the dangers of the protein craze. Links: Health & Veritas Ep. 58: Dr. Eric Topol: Pushing Medicine into the Future Eric Topol: Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity Eric Topol: “The Drivers of Age-Related Diseases” Eric Topol: “A Review of Outlive” Eric Topol, Ground Truths podcast: “Peter Attia: Our conversation about his hit book Outlive, Medicine 3.0, promoting healthspan, GLP-1 drugs and more” Eric Topol: The Creative Destruction of Medicine Eric Topol: The Patient Will See You Now Eric Topol: Deep Medicine Eric Topol: “Our Preoccupation With Protein Intake” The Daily podcast: “How America Got Obsessed with Protein” “High-protein diets increase cardiovascular risk by activating macrophage mTOR to suppress mitophagy” “Identification of a leucine-mediated threshold effect governing macrophage mTOR signalling and cardiovascular risk” “5 Takeaways From Kennedy’s Senate Hearing” Eric Topol on the Dr. Hyman Show: “How AI Could Change Your Next Doctor Visit Forever!” Eric Topol: “The Business of Promoting Longevity and Healthspan” The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy Eric Topol, Ground Truths podcast: “Tyler Cowen: The Prototypic Polymath” “How a scientist who studies ‘super agers’ exercises for a longer life” Eric Topol: “Our Sleep, Brain Aging, and Waste Clearance” “Alzheimer's genes: Are you at risk?” Eric Topol: “The Breakthrough Blood Test for Alzheimer's Disease” Eric Topol: “Predicting and preventing Alzheimer’s disease” Eric Topol: “The personal and clinical utility of polygenic risk scores” Eric Topol: “Polygenic Risk Scores: Ready for Prime Time?” “Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2020” “Wellderly” studies Eric Topol: “What My Two 98-Year-Old Patients Taught Me About Longevity” Eric Topol, Ground Truths podcast: “Mike Osterholm & Eric Topol Discuss The Big One book” “Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy” Eric Topol: “Lithium and Its Potential Protection from Alzheimer's Disease” Eric Topol: “High-performance medicine: the convergence of human and artificial intelligence” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss Dr. Vinay Prasad’s departure from the FDA after a backlash against his decisions on Sarepta’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy. Also examined: AI in clinical settings, changes in NIH grantmaking, and the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. Links: Sarepta and the FDA “STAT breaks down the confusing, heartbreaking Sarepta saga” “Sarepta Therapeutics’ Duchenne therapy faces ‘arduous’ path back to market, senior FDA official says” “For many Duchenne families, halt to gene therapy is heartbreak upon heartbreak” “FDA launches probe into new Elevidys death as Sarepta, Roche stress gene therapy not at fault” “FDA Recommends Removal of Voluntary Hold for Elevidys for Ambulatory Patients” “FDA takes U-turn on Sarepta’s Elevidys, backing Duchenne gene therapy again in ambulatory patients” “Controversial FDA official Dr. Vinay Prasad departs agency” “Top F.D.A. Vaccine Official Resigns, Citing Kennedy’s ‘Misinformation and Lies’” “Vinay Prasad Is a Bernie Sanders Acolyte in MAHA Drag” “Timeline: The Rise and Fall of Vioxx” “What have we learnt from Vioxx?” THC in pizza dough “C.D.C. Ties 85 Cases of THC-Related Symptoms to Wisconsin Restaurant” “Tetrahydrocannabinol Intoxication from Food at a Restaurant — Wisconsin, October 2024” NIH funding “NIH is shrinking the number of research projects it funds due to a new Trump policy” NIH: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications “Fearful of AI-generated grant proposals, NIH limits scientists to six applications per year” “Trump budget draft proposes NIH consolidation and 40% spending cut” Raw milk “Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked to Commercially Distributed Raw Milk — California and Four Other States, September 2023–March 2024” “The Dangers of Raw Milk: Unpasteurized Milk Can Pose a Serious Health Risk” AI in healthcare update “Ambience Healthcare Announces $243 Million Series C to Scale its AI Platform for Health Systems” “As ambient scribes face off, Doximity lures doctors with a free option” Aidoc: “AI Empowering Radiologists” “Clinical Implementation of a Combined Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing Quality Assurance Program for Pulmonary Nodule Detection in the Emergency Department Setting” “Large Language Models as an Inexpensive and Effective Extra Set of Eyes in Radiology Reporting” “Current Trends in Remote and Flexible Work Options in Radiology and Perception of Impact on Radiologist Well-being” Medicare and Medicaid 60th anniversary CMS’ program history “Medicare and Medicaid turn 60 – and face historic cuts decades in the making” UnitedHealth and Medicare Advantage “UnitedHealth says 2025 earnings will be worse than expected as high medical costs dog insurers” “UnitedHealthcare to exit certain Medicare Advantage markets as costs balloon, impacting 600K enrollees” “Novo Nordisk slides further on US competition, new CEO concerns” “Dems Must Really Fix Medicaid, Not Just Undo Trump’s Damage to It”   Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by public health communicator Katelyn Jetelina for updates on COVID-19 and other issues, and to discuss how her emails to students and colleagues in the early days of the pandemic turned into a platform with global reach. Harlan looks at how AI is being used on both sides of the battle between providers and insurers over claims; Howie reports on a setback with a promising gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Links: Insurance Claims, AI, and Wearables “Elevance Health Reports Second Quarter 2025 Results” “Elevance lowers profit outlook, warns things will get worse for health insurers ““Blue KC wrongfully denied medical diagnoses, hospital alleges in AI-driven claims lawsuit” “Oscar Health cuts full-year guidance, estimates 2025 loss as ACA marketplace stumbles” Whoop “WHOOP Delivers Innovative Blood Pressure Insights for a Deeper Look at Your Well-Being” “Introducing Heart Screener: A smarter way to stay connected to your heart health” “Whoop says FDA is ‘overstepping its authority’ with warning about blood pressure feature” FDA: WARNING LETTER, WHOOP, Inc. “RFK Jr. wants everyone to use wearables. What are the benefits, risks?” “Apple to Sell Watches With Blood-Oxygen Feature Disabled After Legal Setback” Your Local Epidemiologist Your Local Epidemiologist “Poll: Trust in Public Health Agencies and Vaccines Falls Amid Republican Skepticism” “Popular epidemiologist lays out future path of public health communication” Yale School of Public Health: PopHIVE Katelyn Jetelina: “NIH: The quiet engine of science is being dismantled” Katelyn Jetelina: “Covid-19 in pockets, sugar cane isn't better, ticks march on, rescission cuts (vs. everything else), bright spots, and more” Mayo Clinic: Norovirus infection Katelyn Jetelina: “The show must go on...” Katelyn Jetelina: “Harassment against scientists is out of control” Katelyn Jetelina: “Medicaid cuts: The how and why” CDC: H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation CDC: Current Epidemic Trends (Based on Rt) for States” CDC: Measles Cases and Outbreaks Treating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Cleveland Clinic: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) “FDA approves Sarepta’s Duchenne gene therapy for nearly all patients” “AAV gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy: the EMBARK phase 3 randomized trial” “Patient dies in Sarepta gene therapy trial, adding to safety concerns” “FDA Requests Sarepta Therapeutics Suspend Distribution of Elevidys and Places Clinical Trials on Hold for Multiple Gene Therapy Products Following 3 Deaths” “In surprise reversal, Sarepta Therapeutics says it will pause shipments of Duchenne gene therapy” “Sarepta to lay off about 500 employees after Duchenne gene therapy setbacks” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Seth Berkowitz, an internist and health equity expert, who argues that we know how to keep people healthier but are lacking the political will and commitment to do so. Harlan reports on a rapidly growing AI platform for doctors; Howie explains why the budget bill could reduce access to medical school.  Links: OpenEvidence OpenEvidence “OpenEvidence, the Fastest-Growing Application for Physicians in History, Announces $210 Million Round at $3.5 Billion Valuation” “This AI Founder Became A Billionaire By Building ChatGPT For Doctors” “Wall Street Tech Spree: With Kensho Acquisition S&P Global Makes Largest A.I. Deal In History” Forbes Profile: Daniel Nadler ClinicalKey AI Seth Berkowitz Health & Veritas Ep. 164: Sarah Taylor: The Science of Breastfeeding North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services: Healthy Opportunities Pilots Seth Berkowitz: “Medicaid Spending and Health-Related Social Needs in the North Carolina Healthy Opportunities Pilots Program” “NC Healthy Opportunities Program Helped Reduce Medicaid Costs” Seth Berkowitz: Equal Care: Health Equity, Social Democracy, and the Egalitarian State USDA: Food Security in the U.S. “These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration” “For Google, health equity becomes ‘health optimization’ as Trump targets DEI” “Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ cuts food stamps for millions—the average family may lose $146 per month, report finds” “Why 1.5 Million New Yorkers Could Lose Health Insurance Under Trump Bill” “The fundamental importance of social insurance for health equity” United States Census Bureau: Quick Facts “Social Security: A Brief History of Social Insurance” Seth Berkowitz: “Expanded Child Tax Credit and Food Insecurity” USDA: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) “5 Key Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements” Health & Veritas Ep. 125: Atheendar Venkataramani: Opportunity, Hope, and Health The Budget and Medical Education “Examining Long-Term Trends in Reported Tuition and Fees Revenues at U.S. Medical Schools” “Medical Student Education: Debt, Costs, and Loan Repayment Fact Card for the Class of 2024” Department of Education: Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans Department of Education: Direct PLUS Loans for Graduate or Professional Students “Medical students fret over the new student loan cap in the 'big, beautiful bill'“ Department of Education: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Executive Order: Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness “U.S. Department of Education Concludes Negotiated Rulemaking Session to Restore Public Service Loan Forgiveness” “How Trump Wants to Reshape a Major Student Loan Forgiveness Program—and Who Could Be Impacted” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Azita Emami, dean of the Yale School of Nursing, to discuss the school’s approach to training nurses who can have a seat at the table of healthcare decision-making. Harlan reports on his new study showing the low levels of evidence required for medical devices in the FDA’s Breakthrough Devices Program; Howie provides some good news about infectious diseases including malaria and HIV. Links: Breakthrough devices? Harlan Krumholz: “FDA Authorization of Therapeutic Devices Under the Breakthrough Devices Program” FDA: Breakthrough Devices Program “Many medical devices deemed ‘breakthrough’ by FDA are backed by patchy evidence” FDA Facts: Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints Harlan Krumholz: “Class I Recalls of Cardiovascular Devices Between 2013 and 2022 : A Cross-Sectional Analysis” Azita Emami “Americans' Ratings of U.S. Professions Stay Historically Low” “University of Washington selects Azita Emami as dean of School of Nursing” “Azita Emami named new dean of School of Nursing” “The Report of the Rockefeller Foundation on Nursing Education: A Review and Critique” Cleveland Clinic: DHEAS Test “DHEA as a Biomarker of Stress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” Azita Emami: “Assessing stress using repeated saliva concentration of steroid hormones in dementia care dyads: results from a controlled pilot care music intervention” Azita Emami: “The Feasibility and Acceptability of In-Home Saliva Collection for Stress in Persons With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers” Infectious diseases Mayo Clinic: Malaria WHO: World Malaria Report 2024 “Georgia certified malaria-free by WHO” “Suriname certified malaria-free by WHO” The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria “Novartis wins approval for first malaria drug for newborns and babies” “FDA Approves a Twice-Yearly Shot to Prevent HIV” “U.S. measles cases hit highest level in 33 years, CDC reports” Texas Department of State Health Services: Measles Outbreak “The West Texas measles outbreak has started to slow for the first time since January” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss the alarming healthcare cuts proposed in the budget bill currently moving through Congress, recent breakthroughs in HIV prevention and diabetes treatment, and the stark contrast between scientific progress and the deep structural flaws in the U.S. healthcare system. Links: The Budget Bill H.R.1—119th Congress (2025-2026) “A List of Nearly Everything in the Senate G.O.P. Bill, and How Much It Would Cost or Save” “Senate passes Trump’s tax-cut bill that would slash Medicaid spending” “5 ways Trump's tax bill will limit health care access” “Murkowski Casts Decisive Vote for G.O.P. Policy Bill, Making an ‘Agonizing’ Choice” “Mapping Hospital Employment By State” “Health Care Just Became the U.S.'s Largest Employer” The Budget Bill and Universities Yale Office of the Provost: “Actions in anticipation of federal legislation” “Yale pauses hiring, tightens budget in anticipation of endowment tax hike” “Yale Is Rushing to Sell Billions in Private Equity Investments” “Trump Has Targeted These Universities. Why?” “Republican Plan to Tax Elite Colleges Could Hit in Unexpected Places” “The NIH’s drastic cut to indirect cost rates is a critical threat to U.S. research infrastructure” The 340B Drug Program Congressional Research Service: Overview of the 340B Drug Discount Program “J&J suffers a loss over 340B drug discount program” “ Beyond the Sloganeering—A Data-Driven Analysis of Recent 340B Growth” American Hospital Association: Fact Sheet: The 340B Drug Pricing Program PhRMA: The 340B Hospital Markup Program A Stem Cell Treatment for Diabetes “Stem Cell-Derived Islet Therapies Shown to Reduce the Need for Injectable Insulin” “Kennedy Says ‘Charlatans’ Are No Reason to Block Unproven Stem Cell Treatments” Mayo Clinic: “Stem cells: What they are and what they do” Cleveland Clinic: Diabetes “Stem Cell–Derived, Fully Differentiated Islets for Type 1 Diabetes” Medicare Advantage and the VA “Insurers Collected Billions From Medicare for Veterans Who Cost Them Almost Nothing” “Lawmakers Seek to Close VA Loophole That Funnels Billions to Private Medicare Insurers” “Medicare Advantage Plans With High Numbers Of Veterans: Enrollment, Utilization, And Potential Wasteful Spending” A New HIV Drug HIV.gov: A Timeline of HIV and AIDS “HIV protection with just two shots a year: FDA approves Gilead drug” “Shuttering of USAID Will Lead to Millions of Deaths Around the World: Studies” “Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis” Kennedy v. Braidwood Health & Veritas Episode 84: Abbe Gluck: The Legal Determinants of Health Supreme Court opinion: KENNEDY, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL. v. BRAIDWOOD MANAGEMENT, INC., ET AL. “Kennedy v. Braidwood: The Supreme Court Upheld ACA Preventive Services but That’s Not the End of the Story” “Supreme Court Upholds Preventive Services Requirement Under ACA” The Big Picture for U.S. Healthcare “The Perfect Storm has Hit U.S. Healthcare” “National Health Expenditure Projections, 2024–33: Despite Insurance Coverage Declines, Health To Grow As Share Of GDP” Exercise and Cancer “Structured Exercise after Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Stephen Waxman, a leading neurology researcher, to discuss the promise of new methods developed by his lab to treat the ravages of pain. Harlan talks about the importance of ratings for Medicare Advantage plans; Howie assesses two sobering new reports on the solvency of Medicare. Links: Harlan’s Section  Slides from Humana's Investor Day  "Humana’s cautious defense of Medicare Advantage" "What Are the Medicare Star Ratings?"  "Early analysis: How health plans fared in the 2025 Medicare Advantage star ratings" Interview with Dr. Waxman  "F.D.A. Approves Drug to Treat Pain Without Opioid Effects" "A brief historical perspective: Hodgkin and Huxley" "A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve" Nobel Prize: “Speed read: Signal to charge" "Sodium channels and pain" "Targeting a Peripheral Sodium Channel to Treat Pain" Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: "Ronald Niedermann"  "Peripheral Sodium Channel Blocker Could Revolutionize Treatment for Nerve Pain" "Interplay of Nav1.8 and Nav1.7 channels drives neuronal hyperexcitability in neuropathic pain"  "Pharmacotherapy for Pain in a Family With Inherited Erythromelalgia Guided by Genomic Analysis and Functional Profiling"  "Neuropathic Pain" "A historical perspective on the discovery of statins"  "Erythromelalgia" "The Two Sides of NaV1.7: Painful and Painless Channelopathies"  "Dr. Stephen Waxman awarded Sharpey-Schafer Prize for pain research" Nobel Prize: "Robert Edwards" "Gain-of-function mutation in Nav1.7 in familial erythromelalgia induces bursting of sensory neurons"  "Scientists Identify Method to Study Resilience to Pain"  "Chasing the genes behind pain"  "Stephen Waxman: pioneer in axons, their disorders, and pain" "I Feel Like I’m Burning Alive. It’s Hard for People to Believe Me"  "‘How badly does it hurt?’ Challenges of measuring pain in clinical trials" Howie’s Section "2025 Medicare Trustees Report"  "Analysis of the 2025 Medicare Trustees' Report"  "Medicare gets a big (unofficial) surprise: a 17-year extension on when it’ll run dry"  "Evan Sussman: Expanding Access to Fertility Drugs"  "Trump gives major lift to 2026 Medicare Advantage payments"  "June 2025 Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System"  "Medicare Advantage’s supplemental benefits will cost taxpayers $86 billion this year, with little transparency"  "How UnitedHealth turned a questionable artery-screening program into a gold mine"  "From boom to bitcoin: A device maker’s surprising pivot amid a Medicare crackdown"   Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss health and healthcare issues making headlines, including public attitudes toward the Medicaid cuts in the budget bill making its way through Congress, a one-time gene therapy that could cure high cholesterol, “ambient” AI in the exam room, and the replacement of the the CDC’s entire vaccine advisory board.  Links: Remembering Atul Butte “Atul Butte, a biomedical and bioinformatics pioneer, dies at 55” Marina Sirota on LinkedIn “Remembering Atul Butte, MD, PhD” The Budget Bill H.R.1—One Big Beautiful Bill Act “KFF Health Tracking Poll: Views of the One Big Beautiful Bill” CBO: Dynamic Estimate of H.R. 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act “Protesters disrupt town-hall healthcare talks” Vinay Prasad “Vinay Prasad named chief medical and science officer at FDA” “Critic of drug industry and COVID-19 measures to lead FDA vaccine program” Medicaid Cuts “Senate GOP tax bill would hit politically explosive Medicaid provision” “The Senate Wants Billions More in Medicaid Cuts, Pinching States and Infuriating Hospitals” “5 Key Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements” “Georgia Touts Its Medicaid Experiment as a Success. The Numbers Tell a Different Story.” “Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage Program: The First Year in Review” “Trump’s Big Bill Would Be More Regressive Than Any Major Law in Decades” Gene Therapy to Prevent Heart Disease Verve Therapeutics Verve Therapeutics: Sekar Kathiresan, M.D. “Lilly to buy gene-editing partner Verve for up to $1.3 billion in cardiac care push” “Viral Vector-Based Gene Therapy” “mRNA-based therapeutics: powerful and versatile tools to combat diseases” “Second patient death reported with gene therapy for muscular dystrophy” Anti-Vaxxers at the CDC “Scoop: CDC has no Acting Director, sources confirm.” Video: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the polio vaccine “This tech millionaire went from covid trial funder to misinformation superspreader” “Kennedy Removes All C.D.C. Vaccine Panel Experts” “RFK Jr. replaced everyone on the CDC's vaccine panel. Here's why that matters” “ACIP, CDC, and Insurance Coverage of Vaccines in the United States” Ambient AI “Ambient AI Is Having Its ‘Moment’ In Healthcare” “This technology is becoming beloved by doctors and patients alike” “Physician Perspectives on Ambient AI Scribes” “Microsoft unveils new voice-activated AI assistant for doctors” “Kaiser Permanente rolls out Abridge's gen AI clinical tech across 40-hospital system” “Andreessen Horowitz in Deal Talks Valuing Abridge AI at $5.3 Billion” “Abridge easing clinician workload”

Howie and Harlan are joined by Sarah DeSilvey to talk about her career as a rural nurse practitioner and her work to create a shared vocabulary for tracking social determinants of health. Harlan unpacks the research implications of the “big beautiful bill” in Congress, and reports on his new research about the link between state gun laws and deaths among children; Howie discusses the simple steps that can prevent syphilis from being passed from mothers to babies in utero.  Links: Budget Cuts “Senators push back on Trump’s proposed $18 billion NIH budget cut” “H.R.1—One Big Beautiful Bill Act” “NIH details how Trump budget would cut support for grants, training, and research centers”“How cuts at the National Institutes of Health could impact Americans' health” Harlan Krumholz: “Characterization of Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health” Guns and Kids Harlan Krumholz: “Firearm Laws and Pediatric Mortality in the US” Jeremy Faust: Inside Medicine McDonald v. City of Chicago  Health & Veritas Episode 174: James Dodington: Protecting Kids from Gun Violence Sarah DeSilvey The Gravity Project CDC: Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) WIC: USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children “WIC Works: Addressing the Nutrition and Health Needs of Low-Income Families for More Than Four Decades” “Trump Budget Would Slash WIC Fruit and Vegetable Benefits for Millions” Health Level 7L7 Congenital Syphilis “Missed Opportunities for Congenital Syphilis Prevention—Clark County, Nevada, 2017–2022” CDC: Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report Health & Veritas Episode 1777: Dave Chokshi: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Pandemic Health & Veritas Epoisode 155: Manisha Juthani: Solving Infectious Disease Mysteries Cleveland Clinic: Congenital rubella syndrome CDC: Congenital Syphilis—Reported Cases and Rates of Reported Cases by Year of Birth, by State/Territory and Region in Alphabetical Order, United States

Howie and Harlan are joined by Dave Chokshi, who led New York City’s response to COVID-19 as health commissioner and serves as chair of the Common Health Coalition, which is working to prepare for future crises by strengthening partnerships between healthcare and public health. Harlan reports on a trip to China; Howie says it’s time for a global effort to expand rubella vaccination.  Links: Harlan in China Harlan Krumholz: Yale China Project Harlan Krumholz receives China’s Friendship Award “China has become a scientific superpower” Dave Chokshi Common Health Coalition Dave Chokshi: “Public Health and Care Delivery—a Common Destiny” Common Health Coalition Challenge “Common Health Coalition Announces Awards of More Than $400,000 Through Inaugural Common Health Challenge” Harlan Krumholz: “State-Level Excess Mortality and Potential Deaths Averted in US Adults During the Delta and Omicron Waves of COVID-19” “New York’s Vaccine Mandates Saved Lives, Departing Health Boss Says” BMJ series: “US covid-19 lessons for future health protection and preparedness” Health & Veritas Episode 175: Rebekah Gee: Improving Health, One Family at a Time Center for American Progress: Hurricane Katrina’s Health Care Legacy NYC Health + Hospitals “Dave Chokshi, MD, Is Appointed Chief Population Health Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals” “The Connection Between COVID-19 and Blood Clots” “CCNY receives $500,000 grant to incubate health leadership institute” “Former New York City Health Commissioner Named Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership” Dave Chokshi: “Forget About Living to 100. Let’s Live Healthier Instead.” Rubella CDC: Rubella Cleveland Clinic: Congenital rubella syndrome CDC: Rubella Vaccination “Estimated Current and Future Congenital Rubella Syndrome Incidence with and Without Rubella Vaccine Introduction — 19 Countries, 2019–2055” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

In a special episode recorded at Connecticut’s largest entrepreneurship event, Howie and guest host Megan Ranney, the dean of the Yale School of Public Health, welcome four Yale innovators: entrepreneur and YSPH lecturer Kaakpema “KP” Yelpaala; Basmah Safdar, incoming director of Women’s Health Research at Yale; Kayla Wooley, a YSPH graduate and the founder of two nursing home staffing companies; and Yale College student Laurie Jimenez, founder of FulcrumCare, a value-based dental provider for Medicaid and Medicare patients.  Links: The Yale Innovation Summit Yale Innovation Summit 2025 Yale Ventures Kaakpema “KP” Yelpaala “Public health innovator Kaakpema Yelpaala appointed senior fellow and lecturer at YSPH” InnovateHealth Yale Cityblock Girl Effect Basmah Safdar “Basmah Safdar, MD, FACEP, Appointed Director, Women’s Health Research at Yale (WHRY)” Women's Health Research at Yale “Heart attack symptoms often misinterpreted in younger women” “Sex Differences in COVID-19 Immune Responses Affect Patient Outcomes” “The Truth About ‘Man Flu’” “Drug Agency Recommends Lower Doses of Sleep Aids for Women” Kayla Wooley StaffOnTap “Nursing home staff shortages prompted YSPH alumna to form two companies” “Nursing Home Staffing Shortages and Other Problems Persist, U.S. Report Says” “State Of The Sector: Nursing Home Labor Staffing Shortages Persist Despite Unprecedented Efforts To Attract More Staff” Hinge Health Laurie Jimenez FulcrumCare “Many Medicare Beneficiaries with Dental Insurance Face Financial Barriers to Care” “Variation in Use of Dental Services by Children and Adults Enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Rebekah Gee, founder and CEO of Nest Health, which provides in-home care to kids on Medicaid and their families. Harlan reports on the first personalized CRISPR gene therapy for a rare genetic disease; Howie untangles the FDA’s restrictions on the COVID-19 booster and what it will mean for your ability to get a shot this fall.  Links: A Breakthrough CRISPR Treatment “Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment” “Patient-Specific In Vivo Gene Editing to Treat a Rare Genetic Disease” “Progress in the Development of N-of-1 Therapy” “Personalized Gene Editing to Treat an Inborn Error of Metabolism” Nest Health Health & Veritas Episode 40: Rebekah Gee: Can We Bring Family Healthcare to the Home? Nest Health “Nest Health picks up $4M in seed extension funding to build out at-home primary care for families” “How Nest Health Is Redefining Primary Care for Families” Rebekah Gee on LinkedIn on Nest Health “What ‘patient-centered‘ should mean: confessions of an extremist” “Prevalence and Variation of Developmental Screening and Surveillance in Early Childhood” “Postpartum health is in crisis” “The Impact of the Pandemic on Well-Child Visits for Children Enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP” “Families often have chief medical officers—and they're almost always women” “Case Study: Louisiana's Poor Rankings Make Improving Birth Outcomes a State Imperative” “In 6-to-3 Ruling, Supreme Court Ends Nearly 50 Years of Abortion Rights” Rebekah Gee on LinkedIn on Medicaid cuts “5 Key Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements” “Health Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill” A New COVID Booster Policy “An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination” “FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say” “FDA tightens requirements for COVID vaccine, adding trials for healthy adults” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by James Dodington, a Yale pediatric emergency medicine physician and an expert in community-based violence prevention. Harlan reports on the remarkable financial results and sometimes questionable science of Hims & Hers Health; Howie discusses UnitedHealthcare’s faltering stock price in the face of anger over aggressive care denial and a lawsuit from shareholders. Links: Oscar Health and Hims & Hers “Oscar Health Profits Eclipse $275 Million As Obamacare Enrollment Soars” “Hims & Hers Health Revenue Jumps, But Outlook Disappoints” “Hims & Hers' Q1 revenue doubles to $586M, boosted by growth in weight loss business” “Novo Nordisk to sell Wegovy through telehealth firms to cash-paying US customers” “They Wanted a Quick Fix for Hair Loss. Instead, These Young Men Got Sick.” “EU drugs regulator confirms suicidal thoughts as side effect of hair loss drug” “Measures to minimise risk of suicidal thoughts with finasteride and dutasteride medicines” “FDA alerts health care providers, compounders and consumers of potential risks associated with compounded topical finasteride products” James Dodington Health & Veritas Episode 81: Joseph Sakran: Confronting Gun Violence Health & Veritas Episode 77: Megan Ranney: What’s Next for Public Health? “Children and teens are more likely to die by guns than anything else” “U.S. Surgeon General Issues Advisory on the Public Health Crisis of Firearm Violence in the United States” “New Report Highlights U.S. 2022 Gun-Related Deaths: Firearms Remain Leading Cause of Death for Children and Teens, and Disproportionately Affect People of Color” James Dodington: “Rural Versus Urban Hospitalizations for Firearm Injuries in Children and Adolescents” “Disparities in Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Conditions” “Special Report: Dean Megan Ranney Brings a Public Health Approach to the Country’s Gun Violence Epidemic” “Gun Violence Is a Public Health Crisis—But Hospital-based Intervention Programs Can Help Break the Cycle” “Implementation of an emerging hospital-based violence intervention program: a multimethod study” UCSF Wraparound Project: The Public Health Model for Violence Prevention “Just Listen” Firearm Injury Prevention at the Yale School of Public Health “11 Years After Sandy Hook—A New Path Toward Healing and Hope” Nelba Márquez-Greene’s Shared Humanity Podcast 4-CT:Violence Intervention and Prevention “Cash Pilot Targets Violence Victims” “How unrestricted cash aid is transforming violence intervention in Connecticut” Pepe Vega’s story: “Gun Violence Is a Public Health Crisis—But Hospital-based Intervention Programs Can Help Break the Cycle" “Yale undergraduate team takes first place in national health policy competition” UnitedHealthcare “UnitedHealth CEO Is Out, Sending Shares Plummeting” “UnitedHealthcare sued by shareholders over reaction to CEO's killing” UnitedHealth Shareholder Lawsuit “UnitedHealth's string of setbacks, from exec murder to cyber attack” “Zepbound Patients Fear Losing Coverage After CVS Deal for Wegovy” “Zepbound beats Wegovy for weight loss in first head-to-head trial of blockbuster drugs”  

Howie and Harlan are joined by Thomas Gill, a Yale geriatrician whose research tracks the factors that contribute to disability in older adults—and those that support continued independence. And they discuss the contrarian tapped to evaluate vaccines at the FDA, allegations of kickbacks against insurers, and the potential end of a loophole that has allowed states to collect additional Medicaid funding.  Links: Vinay Prasad at the FDA “Vinay Prasad tapped to run FDA center that regulates vaccines, gene therapies” “Vinay Prasad, in his own words, outlines the philosophy he’ll bring to the FDA” “Peter Marks, FDA’s top vaccine regulator, forced out” Howard Forman on LinkedIn on Vinay Prasad's Appointment Vinay Prasad's Substack Insurance News “Justice Department Sues Big Medicare Insurers Alleging Kickbacks” “Aetna to exit the ACA exchanges in 2026” “What Aetna quitting the exchanges says about the exchanges” ”CVS to boost access to Novo Nordisk’s weight loss treatment Wegovy for patients on its drug plans” Thomas Gill Statista: Share of old age population (65 years and older) in the total U.S. population from 1950 to 2050 Thomas Gill: “A physical activity intervention to treat the frailty syndrome in older persons-results from the LIFE-P study” Thomas Gill: “A Program to Prevent Functional Decline in Physically Frail, Elderly Persons Who Live at Home” “Prehabilitation for Patients Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” “Allostatic Load: Importance, Markers, and Score Determination in Minority and Disparity Populations” “Cohort Profile: The Precipitating Events Project (PEP Study)” “In Memoriam: Yale Expert in Clinical Research Methods, Alvan R. Feinstein” Medicaid Cuts “Putting $880 Billion in Potential Federal Medicaid Cuts in Context of State Budgets and Coverage” “Republicans are running out of ways to cut Medicaid as moderates and hard-liners clash” “G.O.P. Targets a Medicaid Loophole Used by 49 States to Grab Federal Money” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Joel Bervell, a recent medical school graduate who uses social media platforms to combat misinformation and explain racial biases in healthcare. Harlan discusses his new Wall Street Journal commentary highlighting the link between viral infections and chronic diseases; Howie reports on powerful new evidence for the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine and warns of the dangers of a vaccine-skeptical presidential administration. Links: Viral Infection and Chronic Disease Harlan Krumholz: “How to Lead a Chronic Disease Revolution” “A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia” “Unexplained post-acute infection syndromes” Joel Bervell Joel Bervell Joel Bervell on TikTok Joel Bervell on Instagram “TikTok's 'Medical Mythbuster' Helps Save Lives By Tackling Racial & Gender Disparities In Healthcare” “How the pulse oximeter became infamous on TikTok” “Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement” Joel Bervell’s TikTok on the pulse oximeter Joel Bervell: “The eGFR Equation” “Race Correction and the X-Ray Machine: The Controversy over Increased Radiation Doses for Black Americans in 1968” Joel Bervell: “For over 50 years, X-ray technicians were taught to administer higher radiation doses to Black patients” Joel Bervell’s Instagram reel on bias in the measurement of lung capacity Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Joel Bervell on LinkedIn Joel Bervell on YouTube: The Doctor Is In Kickstarter: The Doctor Is In “Medical mythbuster Joel Bervell, MD, on how to teach kids about medicine and address misinformation” Cleveland Clinic: Amyloidosis Joel Bervel’s Instagram reel on the GFR equation “Abandoning a Race-biased Tool for Kidney Diagnosis” “OPTN Board approves elimination of race-based calculation for transplant candidate listing” “America’s News Influencers” “85th Annual Peabody Awards Announce Nominees for the Arts, Children’s/Youth, Entertainment, and Interactive & Immersive Categories Vaccines and the Federal Healthcare Agencies Health & Veritas Episode 165: “Aging in Bursts and Other News” “U.S. government researchers present ‘phenomenal’ new data on HPV vaccines” “Invasive cervical cancer incidence following bivalent human papillomavirus vaccination: a population-based observational study of age at immunization, dose, and deprivation” “Kennedy played key role in Gardasil vaccine case against Merck” “RFK Jr. suggests some vaccines are risky or ineffective, downplays measles threat” “FDA chief says they're looking at whether to approve COVID shots for next winter” “How Marty Makary’s FDA is embracing a more skeptical view of vaccines” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.  

Howie reflects on his decades-long experience with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and the procedure that has changed his life. Howie and Harlan report on healthcare issues in the news, including the measles outbreak and a vision for a team of personal healthcare AI agents. And student research assistants Inès Gilles and Sophia Stumpf visit for a farewell interview. Links: Eric Topol: Ground Truths Eric Topol: Super Agers Harlan Krumholz: The Expert Guide to Beating Heart Disease: What You Absolutely Must Know Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation “What to know about paroxysmal atrial fibrillation” Joseph Akar, MD, PhD Mayo Clinic: Atrial fibrillation ablation “The True Cost of a Cardiac Ablation in the U.S.” AI Agents “The Four AI Agents of Your Health” “This A.I. Forecast Predicts Storms Ahead” Measles CDC: Measles Cases and Outbreaks “Measles Surge in Southwest Is Now the Largest Single Outbreak Since 2000” Mayo Clinic: History of Measles Food as Medicine “Cooking with the curriculum: a pilot culinary medicine program at the Larner College of Medicine” “Bringing Culinary Medicine to Yale’s New Teaching Kitchen” Bird Flu CDC: H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation “Vietnam reports H5N1 avian flu case with encephalitis” Exercise and Brain Waste “Long-term physical exercise facilitates putative glymphatic and meningeal lymphatic vessel flow in humans” “The brain makes a lot of waste. Now scientists think they know where it goes” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.