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:
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! Out-of-Network Billing for Emergency Care in the United States”
“Flouting Consumer Law, Insurers Refuse to Pay Medical Bills for Emergency Care”
The AI Rollercoaster
“OpenAI Revenue Hits $10 Billion As Losses Reach $10.9 Billion”
“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”
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”
“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.
“The Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut.”
Please visit the firm link to site