The Cost Curve, Flu, and Other News

Howie and Harlan discuss the outlook for U.S. healthcare spending over the next five years, the state of seasonal and avian flu, and an expensive AI-based cardiac test.


Show notes:


Life expectancy and expenditures


"How does U.S. life expectancy compare to other countries?" (https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/c...)


ACOs and cost savings


"After Fifteen Years, is Value-Based Care Succeeding?" (https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/resear...)


Health & Veritas Episode 115: Farzad Mostashari: Aligning Incentives to Fix Primary Care (https://insights.som.yale.edu/podcast...)


World Prematurity Day


WHO: World Prematurity Day 2025 (https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-p...)


WHO: World Prematurity Day Key Messages (https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-p...)


WHO: Preterm birth (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sh...)


AI concerns


"'It keeps me awake at night': machine-learning pioneer on AI's threat to humanity" (https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...)


"Why neural net pioneer Geoffrey Hinton is sounding the alarm on AI" (https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...)


"AI pioneer: 'The dangers of abuse are very real'" (https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...)


"'Malicious use is already happening': machine-learning pioneer on making AI safer" (   • ‘Malicious use is already happening’: mach...  )


"Fathers of the Deep Learning Revolution Receive ACM A.M. Turing Award" (https://awards.acm.org/about/2018-turing)


"Deep learning" (https://www.nature.com/articles/natur...)


Bird flu


"First U.S. case of human bird flu in 9 months confirmed in Washington state" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/health...)


Cleveland Clinic: Bird Flu (Avian Influenza) (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health...)


"Flu in numbers: NHS faces one of worst winters ever, officials warn, amid concern over mutated strain" (https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj.r...)


"New flu virus mutation could see 'worst season in a decade'" (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2d...)


"Australia posts record-breaking flu numbers as vaccination rates stall" (https://www.racgp.org.au/gp-news/medi...)


FDA: Influenza Vaccine Composition for the 2025-2026 U.S. Influenza Season (https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-bi...)


Cardiology and AI


"Coronary CT angiography evaluation with artificial intelligence for individualized medical treatment of atherosclerosis: a Consensus Statement from the QCI Study Group" (https://www.nature.com/articles/s4156...)


"Medicare will pay more than $1,000 for AI to analyze a heart scan. Is that too much?" (https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/m...)


Free speech and drug promotion


"High-Engagement Social Media Posts Related to Prescription Drug Promotion for 3 Major Drug Classes" (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama...)


Health & Veritas Episode 195: Jerry Avorn: Countering the Drug Marketing Machine (https://insights.som.yale.edu/podcast...)


Medicare premiums


"Medicare premiums to jump 10% heading into 2026" (https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/m...)


"Social Security Announces 2.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2026" (https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-...)


Centers for Medicare and Medicaid: 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-she...)


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Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions. (mailto:[email protected])