When it comes to what’s happening in the life sciences, STAT readers are the experts. So earlier this month, I asked readers of the First Opinion newsletter to answer two questions: What story do you think went underdiscussed in 2024? What should we all be paying attention to in 2025?
Many responded, sharing thoughts about policies, the high cost of health care, and much more. Below, you can find a selection of answers.
As a semi-retired RN working as a private nurse advocate, I am concerned for the army of independent and agency caregivers who are in homes on the front line of health care. Mostly foreign born and underpaid, they are doing most all the heavy lifting at the bedside.
Though not entirely unrepresented, their needs should be more comprehensively addressed.
— Sue Trupin
Our obsession with AI this year led to underdiscussion about how nothing we do in medicine, research and health care innovation — including digital health — is going to matter or improve outcomes and reduce costs if we don’t focus on building trust with people through humanism and better, more approachable, relatable communication.
Right after the election I was out in an underserved community, helping a gentleman insured by Medicaid. He told me he voted for Donald Trump because “even though he lies,” he trusted him more because he used simple, understandable language and didn’t talk down to people. I asked if he knew Trump and Republicans tried to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. Over the past 10 years, he’d heard nothing about it and is now concerned.
Who is talking about this communication disconnect that continues to erode trust in health care?
Ultimately, humans have to engage in their own well-being and willingly participate for anything to significantly change the trajectory we are on at scale — for example, unstable costs, increasing or stubbornly high chronic disease rates everywhere, and a largely unsupported aging population.
None of this change will happen without more emphasis on building connection and trust, as humans.
— Lisa Fitzpatrick
One major underdiscussed issue this year was the Biden administration’s failure to enforce a 2023 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruling that struck down a Trump-era rule allowing insurers to implement “copay accumulator” programs.
Copay accumulator programs permit insurers to exclude drug manufacturer copay assistance from being applied toward a patient’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum — effectively, leaving patients on the hook for a bill that the manufacturer coupon should have partially or fully covered.
The Biden administration has repeatedly stated a commitment to prescription drug affordability, so the admin’s inaction on this issue is a glaring contradiction. And as a result, many Americans are left struggling to afford their medications.
There’s still time to issue a new rule or announce that insurers must require compliance with the court ruling before President-elect Trump takes office next January. The administration must take action.
— Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute
2024 lacked an honest conversation about accountability for AI errors in health care, as vendors rushed to deploy immature models without transparency around their reliability or limitations. While HTI-2 may provide some guardrails for generative AI in 2025, we’re witnessing companies recklessly positioning AI chatbots between patients and clinicians without addressing fundamental questions about medical liability when these black box algorithms inevitably make mistakes. The industry’s obsession with AI’s potential has overshadowed critical discussions about who bears responsibility when AI systems — which can inexplicably change their outputs from one day to the next — contribute to patient harm.
— Jay Anders, M.D., chief medical officer, Medicomp Systems
I think the long Covid crisis will be big in 2025. How will long COVID be addressed in the new administration, with the expected changes with HHS, NIH, FDA and CDC? There will need to be a new infusion of funding — but will it be caught in political warfare and will the new leadership be able to meet the moment that is needed for millions of Americans struggling? That’s a big worry on millions of minds right now considering the bipartisan divide with so much, especially this disease.
— Billy Hanlon
The 2024 presidential election hinged on affordability and costs, but much of the discussion centered on the price of eggs, bread, and housing. The skyrocketing cost of health care and its impact on the overall economy did not receive nearly the attention it deserves in 2024, and yet it has a greater and more pervasive impact on employers, employees, and their families. With 150 million Americans relying on employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), the unsustainable cost of health care is baked into the price of nearly everything we buy, from cars and computers to groceries. These rising costs act as a hidden tax, ultimately affecting every corner of our economy.
If Congress and the new administration are serious about strengthening the economy, they must first and foremost address the broken commercial health care marketplace and its massive impact on the future of ESI. Continued attention is needed on health care pricing transparency for PBMs, health plans, and providers, as well as enforcing antitrust laws, improving data accessibility, investing in primary care, and transitioning the U.S. health system from fee-for-service to outcomes-based payment models. For ESI to remain viable, a functional and fair health care market is essential.
— Elizabeth Mitchell, president and CEO, Purchaser Business Group on Health
In 2024, the AI hype obscured a critical reality: We’re building sophisticated algorithms on data that is often flawed, collected through outdated manual processes that place unnecessary burden on highly skilled clinicians. While the industry celebrated AI’s theoretical capabilities for prediction and analysis, it largely ignored how reliance on human data entry creates inconsistent, incomplete, and often inaccurate datasets.
The uncomfortable truth is that without widespread adoption of Internet of Things sensors and automated data collection systems, health care’s AI dreams are being built on a shaky foundation of unreliable data — yet few are willing to confront this truth. We must fundamentally rethink data collection in health care, leveraging ambient sensors, computer vision, and automated systems to capture clinical data in real time. Only by removing the documentation burden from clinicians and implementing intelligent automation at the point of care can we build the reliable, comprehensive datasets needed for AI to deliver on its promises in health care.
— Stephanie Lahr, M.D., president of Artisight
In 2024, chief information security officers (CISOs) in the health care sector faced an unprecedented cyber crisis. Stripped of the resources and leadership support needed to defend against relentless cyberattacks and prepare effective incident response plans, many were left holding the bag for their organizations’ cyber risks. The result? Burnout, staff turnover, and glaring security gaps that leave health care systems dangerously exposed.
As if that weren’t enough, health care CISOs are being personally thrown under the bus. Often excluded from Directors and Officers liability insurance, they face legal and financial risks simply for doing their jobs. For those in public organizations, new SEC regulations mandating cybersecurity attestations pile on even more pressure, forcing CISOs to shoulder personal accountability in an environment already fraught with danger.
The fallout of a hospital cyberattack is catastrophic — patient safety at risk, operations disrupted, and lawsuits looming over stolen data. It’s time for health care organizations to step up: Invest in robust cybersecurity resources, empower CISOs with leadership backing, and shield them from undue liability. Anything less is a gamble the industry can’t afford to take.
— George Pappas, CEO, Intraprise Health
Clinical research is one of the few industries where the regulator (FDA) is actively pushing the industry to adopt new technology and approaches, not the other way around! We have seen the FDA release fairly strident guidance documents admonishing the industry for not adopting approaches like decentralized trials, remote monitoring, and risk-based monitoring. These approaches are also more cost-effective, and preferred by patients. So why are sponsors and clinical research organizations so reluctant to change?
— Meri Beckwith, co-founder, Lindus Health
We didn’t talk enough this past year about the 9 million seniors who declined toward dementia unnecessarily. 2024 was a year of great advancement in technology needed to give consumers and patients greater control over their cognitive health. New digital cognitive assessments and blood-based biomarkers offer the promise of early detection and intervention, but these approaches need to be adopted quickly to help millions stave off dementia.
— John Showalter, chief strategy officer, Linus Health
In the U.S., 1 in 5 people are living with a neuropsychiatric disorder, with an estimated $280 billion spent on neuropsychiatric services. This has been a big year for much needed innovation in the neuropsychiatric treatment landscape yet, despite a few notable approvals, the year has increasingly been marked by the immense challenges associated with treatment development in this space. This is true in the case of major depressive disorder, one of the most prevalent and complex neuropsychiatric conditions affecting an estimated 21 million adults in the U.S. However, these trial “failures” are not just setbacks, they are opportunities to uncover novel insights about patient subgroups and improve trial design. These moments of reflection bring us closer to understanding the intricate biology of depression and tailoring treatments to individual patient needs.
Even when topline results do not align with expectations, these outcomes should be recognized as valuable data points rather than dead ends. This perspective has the potential to fuel smarter, data-driven, and more personalized approaches to drug development. Failure isn’t final; it’s a chance to dig deeper and build on our learnings. Looking ahead, 2025 could be a transformational year for the neuropsych space.
— Amit Etkin, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Alto Neuroscience
It’s worth recognizing that the industry has made progress in digital health reimbursement over the past year. We have seen evidence that links digital health tools to improvements in patient outcomes, enhanced patient engagement, and extend access to care. These new developments have continued to fuel usage and growth. For example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expanded coverage for remote therapeutic monitoring and digital mental health treatment devices, and updated coding for simplified billing and enhanced reimbursement. Patients are reaping the benefits of these expanded, patient-centric treatment options, often achieving better health outcomes that enable them to recover and thrive beyond the hospital setting.
I predict we will continue to see the growth of digital health in 2025, but for the industry to feel its full impact, we must make stronger strides as an industry to help patients navigate digital health options more easily. This will require collaboration across medtech, consumer tech, and private and public stakeholders to address challenges in regulatory and reimbursement pathways, particularly the gap between FDA clearance and reimbursement. My hope is that the standard of care, including access to the most cutting-edge tools and innovations, is accessible and available to all, regardless of financial situation, location, or otherwise.
— Julia Strandberg, chief business leader, connected care and monitoring, Philips