Health & Veritas: Yale's Healthcare and Health Policy Podcast

Howie and Harlan are joined by Omar Lateef, CEO of Chicago's Rush University System for Health, to discuss balancing the financial pressures facing hospitals with commitments to patient care, community health, and research—and why healthcare leaders will need to rethink traditional models of care. Howie examines how proposed changes to student and exchange visitor visas could affect international researchers and physicians; Harlan discusses proposed changes to Medicare payment for remote patient monitoring.
Show notes:
Visa Rules
"Judge blocks Trump administration plans to limit visa length for grad students, postdocs"
NAFSA: Duration of Status Rule
"AAMC Statement on Duration of Status Final Rule"
"What does the new duration of status rule mean for international students and workers?"
Memorandum and Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Omar Lateef
Rush University Medical Center
Stat Status List 2025: Omar Lateef
"Modern Healthcare Again Lists Rush CEO Among Most Influential"
Rush Remains Among Nation's Best in Vizient Quality Rankings"
"Corporate Finance Institute: Debt Covenants
"Bond Covenants Demystified: What You Need to Know"
"Health Equity as a System Strategy: The Rush University Medical Center Framework"
"A Community Anchor for Health Equity"
Fillmore Center Laundry Linen
"Rush Signs on as First Partner for Local Laundry Service"
"Key Facts About Hospitals": Profit Margins
"Despite sectorwide financial recovery, not all are hospitals are finding their footing"
"Hospital Margins Rebounded in 2023, But Rural Hospitals and Those With High Medicaid Shares Were Struggling More Than Others"
Payments for Remote Monitoring
Remote Patient Monitoring
"Billing for Remote Patient Monitoring in Medicare"
"States are betting millions on remote monitoring. Providers, tech groups say proposed Medicare policy could undercut it"
"CMS Proposes Transformational Medicare Reforms to Expand Accountable Care, Modernize Physician Payment, and Shift from Sick Care to Healthcare"
CMS: "Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2027 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; and Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program"
"Telemonitoring in Patients with Heart Failure"
CMS: ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model

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.
Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by cardiologist Aakriti Gupta to discuss advances in minimally invasive heart valve treatment, her work to expand access to cardiovascular care through technology and AI, and a major clinical trial on aortic valve replacement. Howie examines claims that immigration is driving the surge in measles cases; Harlan discusses disappointing trial results for two drugs aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease.
Show notes:
September 11
9/11 Memorial & Museum: Marking the 25th Anniversary
Measles
CDC: Measles Cases and Outbreaks"
"No evidence linking illegal immigration to measles outbreak, despite Byron Donalds' comment".
"Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline"
"'Real-life consequences': Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro, RFK Jr. spar over measles-associated deaths"
"Two unvaccinated people die of measles in Pennsylvania"
Aakriti Gupta
Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE)
Structural Heart Disease
Structural Heart Disease and Interventional Cardiology
Heart Valve Disease
Open-Heart Surgery
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)"
"Gender Bias in Choosing Cardiology, Training and Early Career Development"
Rajendra Makkar
Tia Health
Jeff Wessler
Heartbeat Health
Echocardiogram
iCardio.ai
AllHeart
BELIEVERS trial
Failed Drug Trials
"Novo Nordisk stops two cardiovascular studies aimed at lowering inflammation"
"Ionis partner Novartis announces Lp(a)HORIZON Phase 3 topline results for pelacarsen in patients with elevated Lp(a) and established cardiovascular disease"
Lipoprotein(a)
GLP-1 Agonists

Howie and Harlan discuss health headlines including the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak; a recent FDA decision allowing pharmacies to compound certain peptides; and a concerning report from Medicare trustees on the program's financial future. They also dive into the health habits they're changing this year and a new feature from ChatGPT allowing users to connect medical records and health data to the platform.
Watch a video edition of this episode.
Show Notes:
Healthy Habits
Health & Veritas: Ezekiel Emanuel
"What's Erythritol? And Is It Bad for You?"
NIH: Aging and Alcohol
"Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols: the randomized controlled PERTH Trial"
Health & Veritas: Eric Topol
Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

CDC: Surveillance of Cyclosporiasis
FDA: Investigation of 9-State Outbreak of Cyclospora Illnesses: Iceberg Lettuce (July 2026)
"Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Iceberg Lettuce in 9 States"
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases: Norovirus
FDA: Cyclospora
CDC: Clinical Overview of Cyclosporiasis
CDC: About FoodNet
CDC: About PulseNet
FDA: FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods
Peptides and the FDA
Health & Veritas: Trust, Truth, and Moral Distress
"Peptides: What they are, potential benefits, and safety concerns"
"FDA committee votes to make peptides more widely available"
LinkedIn: Ezekiel Emanuel
The Future of Medicare
OASDI: Trustees Report Summary
U.S. Department of the Treasury: Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports
H.R.1: An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.
IRS: Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
ChatGPT Ventures into Health
"Launching Health in ChatGPT"
"OpenAI makes Health in ChatGPT widely available, moving deeper into consumer health"
"ChatGPT Led to a Man's Near-Fatal Health Crisis, Lawsuit Claims"
LinkedIn: David Rhew
A Record Measles Season
Health & Veritas: Measles Outbreaks, Preventative Cardiology, and Other News
CDC: Measles Cases and Outbreaks
"Measles Cases in the U.S. Are at a 35-Year High"
"What ProPublica Found in the Genetic Code of America's Measles Outbreaks"
Pan American Health Organization
Senator Bill Cassidy
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.
Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Melanie Matheu, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Lyric Bio, who also shares evidence-based health and science information on TikTok as LaughterinLight PhD. They discuss developing new antibody therapies, building biotech companies, and communicating complex science to the public. Harlan warns that AI could drive up healthcare costs unless payment models change; Howie highlights encouraging declines in traffic deaths while noting the growing risks associated with e-bikes and e-scooters.
Show notes:
AI and Healthcare Costs
"What Is Fee for Service in Healthcare and How It Works"
"Payment for Clinical AI"
"CMS floats new Medicare payment category for AI diagnostic software: 6 notes"
Melanie Matheu
LaughterinLight PhD on TikTok
Lyric Bio
Hyper-IgM (HIgM) Syndromes
Polyclonal Antibodies (PAbs)
Autoimmune Diseases
Kawasaki disease
NIH: R01 research grants
Prellis Biologics
Cyclosporiasis
"FDA says false-positive lettuce test doesn't change Taylor Farms cyclospora probe"
WHO: Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dr. Zachary Rubin
From Bench to Bedside podcast
Zachary Rubin: All About Allergies: How to Live Well with Asthma, Food Allergies, Hay Fever and More
Road Safety
"The '100 Deadliest Days' Have Begun"
WHO: "Road deaths fall by 21% globally but stronger action is needed to save lives"
NHTSA: "Crash-Stats: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate in 2025"
Consumer Product Safety Commission: "Micromobility Products-Related Deaths Injuries and Hazard Patterns 2017-2024"

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.
Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Shivan Mehta, associate chief innovation officer at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, to discuss how healthcare organizations can use behavioral science to remove barriers that keep patients from getting recommended care. Harlan warns that ill-defined rules governing scientific collaboration with China could chill medical research; Howie revisits the discovery of Legionnaires' disease 50 years ago as New York confronts a new outbreak.
Show notes:
Restrictions on Collaboration
National Science Foundation "Prohibition on Collaborations with Restricted Entities"
"Fact of the Week: China Has Surpassed the US in the Number of Drug Clinical Trials, With 1,100 More Trials Listed"
Texas Executive Order GA-48
Governor Greg Abbott's executive order restricting travel to China and other countries.
Shivan Mehta
Shivan Mehta: "Texting in Health Care—Preserving Impact and Managing Influx"
Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD
"Randomized controlled trials – The what, when, how and why"
CDC: Screening for Colorectal Cancer
Cleveland Clinic: What is a Gastroenterologist?
Cologuard Plus Colon Cancer Screening Test
Mayo Clinic: Colonoscopy
"What to know about the new blood-based test for colorectal cancer"
Mayo Clinic: Fecal immunochemical test
Mayo Clinic: Colon polyps
Cleveland Clinic: Fecal Occult Blood Test
"Non-invasive blood and stool CRC screening tests: Available modalities and their clinical application"
"Race/Ethnicity and Adoption of a Population Health Management Approach to Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Community-Based Healthcare System"
Integrated Delivery System
Corinne M. Rhodes, MD, MPH
Legionnaires' Disease
CDC: Legionnaires' Disease
"New York Is Having a Legionnaires' Outbreak. Here's What to Know."
 "Mayor Mamdani Takes Aggressive Action to Address Upper East Side Legionnaires' Disease Community Cluster"

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.
Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.