Health & Veritas: Yale's Healthcare and Health Policy Podcast

Howie and Harlan discuss the prospects for expanding health coverage, lowering drug prices, and reforming surprise billing legislation in the wake of the midterm elections, and consider whether the precarious economics of the AI industry could jeopardize its promise for medicine. They also discuss the potential dangers of an early flu season coinciding with a resurgence of bird flu and what two failed cardiovascular drug trials reveal about the limitations of biomarkers in predicting patient outcomes. Show notes: Program for Biomedical Ethics talk: Academic Freedom in Medicine with Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, Anthony Kronman, JD, PhD and Howard Forman, MD, MBA, FACR CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality QualTech Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE) The Midterm Election US midterm elections results 2026 "2026 State Legislative Elections: The Results and What They Mean" "Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions" "Democrats take new step toward investigating Trump's drug pricing deals" FDA: Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments "US debt crosses $40 trillion threshold after doubling under Trump and Biden" Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report Summary Surprise Billing "Surprise Billing in Private Health Insurance: Overview of Federal Consumer Protections and Payment for Out-of-Network Services" "Surprise! Out-of-Network Billing for Emergency Care in the United States" No Surprises Act "Flouting Consumer Law, Insurers Refuse to Pay Medical Bills for Emergency Care" "How the No Surprises Act's nonprofit arbitrators are operating like 'mini gods' and getting rich doing it" The AI Rollercoaster "OpenAI Revenue Hits $10 Billion As Losses Reach $10.9 Billion" Server Farm "CoreWeave Leads Tech Stocks In Rally—Up 21%—After Earnings Eased AI Debt Fears" "Nvidia Opens Investigation Into Jensen Huang's Relationship With Suspected Chinese Spy" Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld Flu Season CDC: Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 43, ending October 31, 2026 CDC: A(H5) Bird Flu: Current Situation "Bird Flu Death in Washington State Renews Concern Over the Virus" "A single mutation in bovine influenza H5N1 hemagglutinin switches specificity to human receptors" Failed Drug Trials "Interleukin-6 Inhibition with Ziltivekimab for Atherosclerotic Disease" "Researchers say inflammation as a treatment target still important despite neutral results of ZEUS trial" "Pelacarsen and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with High Lipoprotein(a)" "Lp(a) HORIZON trial: Lp(a) fell by 78%, but cardiovascular outcomes unexpectedly neutral" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by physician, scientist, and entrepreneur Anthony Philippakis to discuss his efforts to bring precision medicine to heart disease and other common conditions, and what he's learned about turning scientific breakthroughs into successful businesses. Howie takes stock of the midterm election results and what they could mean for healthcare policy; Harlan calls for a new national strategy to strengthen American scientific research at a time of extraordinary opportunity. Show notes: After the Election "Midterm election live updates: Trump shifts blame after GOP midterm losses" "Missourians reject ballot proposal that would have re-imposed an abortion ban" "Idaho Voters Reject Referendum to Lift State's Abortion Ban" "Nevada voters back abortion rights ballot measure second election in a row" "Abortion and fertility care secured in Virginia vote" "Proposition 40: California billionaire tax appears headed for defeat" Genomics and Innovation Roger Howe The Human Genome Project GV (Google Ventures) Broad Institute David Altshuler All of Us Research Hub "What is a field programmable gate array (FPGA)?" Foundation Medicine Flatiron Health Verve Therapeutics Moral hazard Arboretum LifeSciences "ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating that Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000" Rebuilding Research "How Trump Is Dismantling America's Scientific Research Machine" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Medicine sleep specialist Christine Won to discuss what makes for a good night's sleep and why sleep trackers and supplements may do more harm than good. Amid renewed discussion of "Medicare for All," Howie explains why Medicare falls short of universal coverage for current beneficiaries and proposes reforms; Harlan examines common misconceptions about longevity and what it takes to live a longer, healthier life. Show notes: The Cost of Being on Medicare Medicare.gov: 2026 Medicare costs (PDF) Library of Congress: "Finding Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Payment System Rules: Schedules and Resources" Library of Congress: "Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit"  Medicare.gov: "Get Medigap Basics" "MedPAC Findings Versus The Insurance Industry: Is MA Paid More Than Traditional Medicare?" MedPAC: "The Medicare Advantage program: Status report"  Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees: "A Summary of the 2026 Annual Reports" Better Sleep "Tired of not sleeping? These tips might help you rest better" Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD Meir Kryger, MD, FRCPC "What Is a Siesta?" Circadian Rhythm: What It Is, How It Works & What Affects It "Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function" Melatonin: What It Is, What It Does & How It Works Short Sleeper Syndrome: What It Is, Symptoms & Treatment "Long Sleepers" Andrew Krystal, MD Sleep apnea—Symptoms and causes Christine Won: "Sex differences in obstructive sleep apnea phenotypes, the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis" Hypersomnia: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment  Christine Won: "Sleep in Women Across the Life Span" "Cannabis for Sleep" "Recent and Cumulative Cannabis Use and Sleep in Middle-Aged Adults" "Tirzepatide for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity" "Mitochondrial origins of the pressure to sleep" Longevity Misconceptions "6 Things Longevity Experts Wish People Would Stop Saying"  "Heritability of intrinsic human life span is about 50% when confounding factors are addressed"  "Association of Later-Life Weight Changes With Survival to Ages 90, 95, and 100: The Women's Health Initiative" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Public Health senior fellow Ashwin Vasan to discuss the ambitious agenda he pursued as New York City health commissioner: helping New Yorkers live longer, transforming mental healthcare, and rethinking what government can do to make people healthier. Howie examines the blood clots suffered by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the questions they raise about player safety; Harlan discusses the financial pressures that put healthcare out of reach for many Americans. Show notes: Blood Clots and the NFL "NFL Network: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts likely out for rest of 2026 season due to blood clots" Pulmonary embolism: symptoms and causes "Venous Thromboembolism Within Professional American Sport Leagues" CDC: Data and Statistics on Venous Thromboembolism "No apparent association between mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and venous thromboembolism" "NFL commissioner says protocols were 'incredibly good' and welcomes investigation after Jalen Hurts injury" Ashwin Vasan "Mayor Mamdani Appoints Dr. Dave A. Chokshi to the NYC Board of Health" Omicron Variant: Symptoms and Treatment Legionnaires' disease: symptoms and causes Ashwin Vasan: "Balancing Personal Choice and Societal Factors in Health" Peptides: Types, Health Benefits, and Uses NYC Health: Healthy New York City: Goals for 2030 What Is Cardiovascular Disease? NYC Health: Public Health Corps Mary Bassett Fountain House Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City "Who is Jordan Neely, the man killed in NYC subway chokehold death?" "Community Mental Health Act of 1963: Passage, Repeal, and Aftermath" Mountains Beyond Mountains "World Health Organization and UNAIDS unveil plan to get 3 million AIDS patients on treatment by 2005" Commonweal Ventures Financial Insecurity in America "Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities" Pew Research Center: "Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact" "ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating that Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000" "Social Security Trustees Report Warns of 22% Benefit Cut In 2032" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss new research into the biological mechanisms behind long COVID and other post-infectious syndromes, how the FDA can ensure the safety of AI-powered medical tools, and why prior authorization can discourage necessary care even when treatments are ultimately approved. They also examine an early flu season, the changing calculus of COVID vaccination, and the continuing surge in measles cases.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Yale School of Medicine cardiologist Eric Velazquez to discuss how advances in treatment have transformed cardiovascular medicine and how technology could make care more accessible and equitable. Howie reports on a possible case of plague in Russia; Harlan reflects on how AI is changing the relationship between doctors and patients—and what that means for medical education. Show notes: Plague "Pneumonic plague: WHO says it wants more details from Russia in death of worker at research lab" "Dozens quarantined after researcher at Russian plague laboratory dies of 'unknown' infection" "U.S. Seeks Information From Russia on Possible Plague Death" "Rumors Are Swirling of a Plague Outbreak in Russia. Here's What We Know." "What to know about pneumonic plague "World Health Assembly adopts historic Pandemic Agreement to make the world more equitable and safer from future pandemics" CDC: International Health Regulations WHO: Biological weapons Eric Velazquez Yale School of Medicine: Cardiovascular Medicine Yale Cardiovascular Research Center (YCVRC) Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE) Interventional Cardiology Myocardial Infarction (MI) Stent Statins Beta-Blockers Atrial fibrillation Structural Heart Disease Heartbeat Health "What Is an Ambulatory Center? How It Differs From a Hospital" Expertise and AI Harlan Krumholz: "Beyond Information Asymmetry in Medicine: The Changing Nature of Medical Authority and Expertise" "Why Do London Taxi Drivers Have Larger Hippocampuses?" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by journalist Gary Wolf, author of the new book The Quantified Self: Learning to Observe, and patient researcher Sara Riggare, who has spent years studying her own experience with Parkinson's disease to better understand and manage her health. They discuss how systematic self-observation can help people ask better questions and learn more about their own health. Howie examines Sweden's use of AI as a second reader of screening mammograms; Harlan asks whether AI will streamline healthcare billing or fuel an arms race between providers and insurers. Show notes: AI Radiologists "Health system will use AI instead of radiologists for breast imaging 2nd reads" "Lunit Expands AI-Powered Breast Cancer Screening Across the Stockholm Region" "Artificial intelligence for breast cancer detection in screening mammography in Sweden: a prospective, population-based, paired-reader, non-inferiority study" Joann G. Elmore, MD, MPH The Quantified Self Quantified Self: Self-Knowledge Through Numbers Gary Wolf: The Quantified Self: Learning to Observe Quantified Self: Personal Science Research Group "N-of-1 Trial Design: Single-Patient Crossover Methodology" What is Parkinson's? Sara Riggare: "The Red Dot and the Blue Dots: My ISDM 2026 Keynote" Sara Riggare: "Precision Medicine in Parkinson's Disease—Exploring Patient-Initiated Self-Tracking" Sara Riggare: "The Burden of Tracking" TED Talk by Gary Wolf: "The Quantified Self" Gary Wolf: "The Data-Driven Life" "What Is Biohacking and Is It Safe?" Gary Wolf: "A Conceptual Framework for Personal Science" AI Billing "What Is Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)?" "Agentic AI and the race to a touchless revenue cycle" "Analysis examines AI in hospital billing as spike in complex patients adds nearly $1 billion in extra costs" "Hospital Coding Intensity Analysis" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by pediatric cardiologist Emily Bucholz to discuss her work treating fetal heart abnormalities across a multistate region and the challenges of bringing specialized pediatric care to patients far from major medical centers. For Suicide Prevention Month, Howie examines evidence that restricting access to lethal means can prevent suicide; Harlan pays tribute to the late Yale political scientist Theodore Marmor and remembers a moment when Marmor's mentorship changed his professional path. Show notes: Preventing Suicide Suicide Prevention Month CDC: Leading Causes of Death "Declining gun homicides, record gun suicides in 2024" "Banning pesticides saves lives from suicide" Strong Star Training Initiative: Caring Contacts Emily Bucholz Children's Hospital Colorado:Fetal Cardiology Program "Fetal Cardiology: What is it? Why is it important?" Children's Hospital Association: About Children's Hospitals "Telemedicine: Definition, uses, benefits, and more" Children's Hospital Colorado "Differences Between Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Care" CDC: About Congenital Heart Defects Mayo Clinic: Electrocardiogram Cleveland Clinic: Chambers of the Heart NIH: Medical Scientist Training Program Yale Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE) "Ensuring Readiness for Practice: Advancing Competency-Based Subspecialty Training" The Children's Heart Foundation Remembering a Mentor Harlan Krumholz: "The Return on Mentorship" Yale School of Management: "Remembering Professor Emeritus Theodore Marmor, 1939–2026" In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Omar Lateef, CEO of Chicago's Rush University System for Health, to discuss balancing the financial pressures facing hospitals with commitments to patient care, community health, and research—and why healthcare leaders will need to rethink traditional models of care. Howie examines how proposed changes to student and exchange visitor visas could affect international researchers and physicians; Harlan discusses proposed changes to Medicare payment for remote patient monitoring. Show notes: Visa Rules "Judge blocks Trump administration plans to limit visa length for grad students, postdocs" NAFSA: Duration of Status Rule "AAMC Statement on Duration of Status Final Rule" "What does the new duration of status rule mean for international students and workers?" Memorandum and Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction Omar Lateef Rush University Medical Center Stat Status List 2025: Omar Lateef "Modern Healthcare Again Lists Rush CEO Among Most Influential" Rush Remains Among Nation's Best in Vizient Quality Rankings" "Corporate Finance Institute: Debt Covenants "Bond Covenants Demystified: What You Need to Know" "Health Equity as a System Strategy: The Rush University Medical Center Framework" "A Community Anchor for Health Equity" Fillmore Center Laundry Linen "Rush Signs on as First Partner for Local Laundry Service" "Key Facts About Hospitals": Profit Margins "Despite sectorwide financial recovery, not all are hospitals are finding their footing" "Hospital Margins Rebounded in 2023, But Rural Hospitals and Those With High Medicaid Shares Were Struggling More Than Others" Payments for Remote Monitoring Remote Patient Monitoring "Billing for Remote Patient Monitoring in Medicare" "States are betting millions on remote monitoring. Providers, tech groups say proposed Medicare policy could undercut it" "CMS Proposes Transformational Medicare Reforms to Expand Accountable Care, Modernize Physician Payment, and Shift from Sick Care to Healthcare" CMS: "Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2027 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; and Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program" "Telemonitoring in Patients with Heart Failure" CMS: ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model In the Yale School of Management's MBA for Executives program, you'll get a full MBA education in 22 months while applying new skills to your organization in real time. Yale's Executive Master of Public Health offers a rigorous public health education for working professionals, with the flexibility of evening online classes alongside three on-campus trainings. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by cardiologist Aakriti Gupta to discuss advances in minimally invasive heart valve treatment, her work to expand access to cardiovascular care through technology and AI, and a major clinical trial on aortic valve replacement. Howie examines claims that immigration is driving the surge in measles cases; Harlan discusses disappointing trial results for two drugs aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease. Show notes: September 11 9/11 Memorial & Museum: Marking the 25th Anniversary Measles CDC: Measles Cases and Outbreaks" "No evidence linking illegal immigration to measles outbreak, despite Byron Donalds' comment". "Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline" "'Real-life consequences': Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro, RFK Jr. spar over measles-associated deaths" "Two unvaccinated people die of measles in Pennsylvania" Aakriti Gupta Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE) Structural Heart Disease Structural Heart Disease and Interventional Cardiology Heart Valve Disease Open-Heart Surgery Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)" "Gender Bias in Choosing Cardiology, Training and Early Career Development" Rajendra Makkar Tia Health Jeff Wessler Heartbeat Health Echocardiogram iCardio.ai AllHeart BELIEVERS trial Failed Drug Trials "Novo Nordisk stops two cardiovascular studies aimed at lowering inflammation" "Ionis partner Novartis announces Lp(a)HORIZON Phase 3 topline results for pelacarsen in patients with elevated Lp(a) and established cardiovascular disease" Lipoprotein(a) GLP-1 Agonists