Health & Veritas

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.

Discover the alarming potential healthcare cuts looming in Congress that could reshape access to care. Hear about groundbreaking advancements in HIV prevention and diabetes treatments, contrasted with the troubling rise in new cases. The hosts tackle the vital role of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in shaping healthcare measures. They also dive into how exercise can dramatically improve cancer patient outcomes, suggesting that physical activity is more than just beneficial—it's a game changer. It's a whirlwind of healthcare truth and optimism!

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