AT THIS HOUR

49: Percent of 21,016 17-24 year-olds we polled who said they are not planning to drink this year and hopefully ever, up from 32% last year, an indication of a few things - the younger population is not interested in alcohol as they’ve seen its abuse in their friends and family, and they are motivated to move and feel good. Or, they are using other things - cannabis - and they are getting their fix from an underappreciated public health crisis called sports betting. It’s probably a combination, but the glass half full in me likes the trend.

Science: What Can’t GLP-1s Do? The latest research has them reducing knee inflammation in patients with meniscus tears and halting alcohol abuse in adults. Not sure we’ve had a cascading effect like this on healthcare cost and utilization and human behavior like ever, ‘cept maybe opioids, but that hasn’t worked out so well. We’re convening a panel of clinical thought leaders on Jan. 21st to discuss the implications. To register, click here.

Sport: Here’s a clip from one of the runners in the Boston Bulldogs documentary Cannes World Film Festival named Best Student & Health Film in 2024 for its depiction of resilience amidst addiction recovery. A tour of this film is underway this year to schools, recovery communities and companies interested in showcasing the story and helping prevent addiction.

Policy: Didn’t video already kill the radio star? I grew up singing this song by The Buggles, which was a kind of nostalgic commentary on the rise of technology displacing older music and TV stars—a bit of past is prologue for what healthcare is facing since, for the first time, investors, payers and consumers all have the same #1 healthcare policy priority heading into 2026 – AI/technology: figuring out how to pay for it and make it work and how much it’ll impact how we traditionally get healthcare.  To hear the unveiling of the top 20 priorities ranked for 2026, register here for our Jan. 7th call, “Investors vs. Payers—Or Is Everyone on the Same Team?”

Perspective: The one about the tennis lesson…essay here.

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