It’s a super-slow news day today**, which is not particularly unexpected given the worldwide pause to flip the calendar.
I have a handful of links to share below, but — first — I wanted to try something novel.
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In my “Future of Cost Curve” survey from last month, several of you suggested that I work to tap into the collective wisdom of the Cost Curve community, which was a fantastic idea. Given that today is slow, it seems like a good time to experiment with that concept.
This is traditionally a time of year to solicit predictions on the year to come, but that’s a mug’s game, in which all predictions are either just conventional wisdom or intentional contrarianism. My current default on the future of just about everything is “nobody knows.”
So instead of a prediction, I wanted to ask a question that may be even more illuminating: What advice do you have for those in the health care system in 2025?
That’s intentionally open-ended. Productivity hacks? I’ll take ‘em! Strategic guidance on health care contracting? Sure! Best practices for dealing with media? Yup! Myths to be busted or misinformation to be corrected? That’ll do, too!
The survey is available here. I’ll keep it up for the rest of the week.
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And here are the links I promised:
Add this one to the long, long list of research papers that show that the 340B program does a lousy job of making treatment more accessible. The latest analysis — published in Cancer Medicine — looked at patients receiving targeted therapy for prostate cancer. Those in the most disadvantaged areas are least likely to receive advanced treatment … but 340B penetration didn’t have any impact on those numbers.
I know I just poo-pooed 2025 predictions, but this set of crystal-ball readings — from Real Endpoints — is worth the read. I can’t imagine that you’ll agree with all of it, but if it gets you thinking, it will have done the job.
Off-Topic: I got a kick out of this New York Times essay that argued that the goal of any commentary should be 73% agreement. If you read something that is 100% aligned with your way of thinking, it’s probably just confirming your priors, not making you think. So please call me out: if I offer a perspective on the news of the day that you agree with completely, let me know and I’ll work harder to find an angle that makes you say “Yes, but …”
** I expect that will change, and quick. I’m still waiting for the unfortunate deluge of stories about Jan. 1 price changes, and I’m still hoping for someone ready to take a look at the about-to-launch Pharmacy Care Reimagined effort from Blue Cross of California. This ain’t going to be a dull year.
