Running Through Walls Healthcare Predictions for 2026
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Dec 9, 2025 
Siobhan Nolan Mangini, a healthcare contributor, joins Bob Kocher and Bryan Roberts to lay out bold predictions for the future of healthcare. They review last year's hits and misses while defining 'blip' as significant yet subtle innovations. Mangini highlights concerns over sustained high pharmacy spending and introduces a new AI billing code aimed at enhancing access to chronic care. The trio discusses the upcoming challenges with AI integration, including potential friction between provider and payer systems, and speculates on the implications for Medicare and political economy ahead.
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Big Launch, Invisible Progress
- 'Blip' means big launches with invisible progress across healthcare, not one-off hype.
- Expect commercial pharmacy spend to keep rising despite headline drug pricing wins.
TrumpRx Likely A Price Lookup, Not Fulfillment
- TrumpRx will likely launch a price-transparency site but won’t be a full fulfillment marketplace initially.
- Users will probably look up prices there and buy from existing retailers like Mark Cuban’s pharmacy or Amazon.
Design For True AI Automation
- Use the new Medicare AI billing code to drive real automation because the payment is low enough to force reliance on AI.
- Design workflows that eliminate unnecessary human-in-the-loop tasks to remain financially viable.