The 2024 elections will be among the most consequential in American history, as voters grapple with profound policy differences on everything from the economy to foreign policy, climate change, and, of course, health care.

This episode of the Princeton Pulse Podcast unpacks the health policy issues at play. Host Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health, is joined by Joanne Kenen, a contributing editor to Politico Magazine, and journalist in residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Institute for Policy Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

Kenen is a leading health care journalist and trenchant observer at the intersection of health care policy and politics. Over the course of her career, she has covered implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Covid-19 pandemic, and much more.

Howard and Kenen discuss how the upcoming election could impact the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans. They address reproductive health care, the fate of the ACA, prescription drug costs, Medicare, and broader questions on the future of Medicaid and our health care safety net.

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Read KFF Election Coverage (KFF is an independent health policy organization.)

Read one of Kenen’s most recent articles for Politico.

Read other articles about health policy and the upcoming election:
Health Is on the Ballot in the Presidential Election (JAMA)
History Repeats—The Election Battle for Medicaid in 2024 (JAMA)

The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, produced by Aimee Bronfeld, and edited by Alex Brownstein. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

This episode of the Princeton Pulse Podcast takes on one of the hottest topics in health care – and in Washington: the use and regulation of artificial intelligence, or AI.

Research suggests that AI could revolutionize the delivery of health care, from pinpointing cancers that are invisible to the human eye, to powering wearable devices that can detect abnormalities before a medical emergency occurs. In the simplest of terms, AI enables computers and machines to perform tasks like a human might. With the ability to analyze huge sets of data in a matter of seconds, it could help clinicians make better, faster, smarter decisions and lead to improved health outcomes.

But the use of AI is not without risk. There are profound ethical and regulatory issues at play. Host Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health, explores the promise and potential perils of AI with two advocates for effectively and responsibly incorporating new tools into our health care system. This episode features: Niraj Jha, an engineering professor at Princeton University, who is developing a software package that could enhance the reliability of medical diagnoses; and Representative David Schweikert from Arizona’s First Congressional District, a congressional leader on these issues.

The panel discusses how smartphones and smartwatches can serve as portable medical labs; the ways in which AI can support clinical and policy decision-making; mitigating risks related to accuracy, bias, privacy, and security; the potential for cost savings; and innovations that are on the cusp of virtually transforming health care in the United States and beyond.

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Read about Niraj Jha’s grant-funded project aimed at developing a software package to enhance the reliability of AI for medical diagnosis and other applications. This paper provides information about his research on counterfactual decision-making.

Read about the Healthy Technology Act, introduced by Congressman Schweikert, which qualifies AI and machine learning technologies as practitioners eligible to prescribe drugs. He also proposed legislation to establish reimbursement guidance for remote monitoring devices that use AI to treat patients.

The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, produced by Aimee Bronfeld, and edited by Alex Brownstein. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

Today’s episode features a candid conversation with Dr. Ashish Jha, a globally renowned public health leader and Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

An accomplished physician and researcher, Dr. Jha is acclaimed for driving improvements in public health policy and practice. Most notably, his groundbreaking work on pandemic preparedness and response led to a role at the White House, where he served as Covid-19 Response Coordinator under President Joe Biden.

On the show, Host Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health, and Dr. Jha frankly discuss what’s working well and where we need to do better in public health. Dr. Jha highlights how U.S. investments during the pandemic improved vaccines, treatments, medical surveillance, and infrastructure to reduce Covid-related deaths while preparing us for the next public health crisis. He also exposes some of our biggest public health failures, including systemic inequities, vaccine hesitancy and disinformation, and declining trust in institutions, emphasizing the importance of listening to everyday people and focusing public health on what matters to them.

With an eye toward the future, the conversation addresses emerging challenges, such as climate change, the sustainability of funding for public health, and managing health care costs, and how to counter these challenges though evidence-informed policies, technological innovation, and sustained, collaborative engagement. Dr. Jha provides a hopeful perspective on ways to overcome political divides and chart a path forward for something we all care about -- helping people live longer, healthier, better lives.

Read more:
Dr. Jha. references the seminal work of the late Uwe E. Reinhardt, a Princeton University professor and respected health care economist: "It's the Prices, Stupid: Why the United States is So Different From Other Countries."

Heather Howard penned an article related to their discussion on Long Covid and post-viral syndromes: "Learning From Past Disasters to Help Covid Long Haulers."

The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, produced by Aimee Bronfeld, and edited by Alex Brownstein. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.