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.

Le cimetière des memes, avec Iman Ahmed