Vic is joined by guest host Paul Kappelman to break down the latest signals shaping healthcare and the economy, including inflation trends, slowing job growth, housing market movement, healthcare spending exceeding $5 trillion, Medicare Advantage investigations, payer scrutiny, hospital labor strikes, and major pharma M&A. The episode also covers at-home cancer care, digital health’s growing divide, new federal healthcare proposals, shifting nutrition guidelines, flu treatment advances, data interoperability battles, and how AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic are beginning to reshape clinical workflows, consumer health access, and everyday work.

4:12 - Pace of Inflation Held Steady in December; Consumer Prices Up 2.7% on Year WSJ

5:19 - America’s Job Market Has Entered the Slow Lane WSJ

7:54 - Home Sales in December Jump 5.1%, Biggest Gain in Nearly 2 Years WSJ

10:26 - This Startup Wants to Bring Cancer Patients' Care at Home WSJ

15:44 - 2025 year-end digital health funding overview: A tale of two markets Rock Health

13:51 - US healthcare spending climbed 7.2% in 2024: 8 things to know Beckers

17:55 - White House: The Great Healthcare Plan White House website

20:58 - RFK Jr.-Backed Dietary Guidelines Say to Avoid Processed Foods, Double Protein WSJ

22:19 - UnitedHealth Used Aggressive Tactics to Boost Medicare Payments, Senate Report Finds WSJ

23:56 - Kaiser Permanente to pay $556M to settle Medicare Advantage fraud claims Fierce Healthcare

25:24 - UnitedHealthcare unveils pilot to accelerate payments to rural hospitals Fierce Healthcare

26:15 - Nearly 15,000 Nurses Go on Strike at Major New York City Hospitals NYT

173 - The $5 Trillion Healthcare Problem and Why AI Is Stepping In