AI could fuel Biden's cancer moonshot

The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Dec 06, 2023 View in browser   By Erin Schumaker, Shawn Zeller, Daniel Payne, Carmen Paun, Ruth Reader and Evan Peng THE NEXT CURES AI is already helping radiologists decipher scans. | AFP via Getty Images The White House is embracing artificial intelligence to help achieve President Joe Biden's cancer moonshot goals. That's according to Catherine Young, assistant director for cancer moonshot engagement and policy, who spoke during a Library of Congress panel discussion on Tuesday. When Biden reignited the moonshot last year, he put forth two core goals: reducing the cancer death rate by half over 25 years and improving the lives of cancer patients and their caregivers. "Are these ambitious goals? Yes, they absolutely are. But we also believe they are very achievable," Young said. In addition to public health strategies, like improving access to cancer screening and helping Americans quit smoking, there's a role for AI in advancing the moonshot, Young said. We need to seize the benefits of one of the most rapidly developing technologies of our time, she explained, noting a few key areas where AI could help cancer scientists and patients: — Helping radiologists diagnose cancer and get results to patients faster — Quickly processing large quantities of data — Streamlining discovery and testing for less toxic and more personalized treatments — Evaluating the effectiveness of new drugs "We can use AI to meet some of our greatest aspirations as a country, which gives us the hope that we can end cancer as we know it,” Young said. Even so: AI must be deployed with proper controls, she cautioned. An ongoing concern about using AI in medicine is that it could worsen health care inequality or replicate its existing biases. Young pointed to actions the White House has taken to protect against this, including Biden's recent executive order on AI and White House efforts to secure voluntary commitments from companies to develop safe and secure AI products. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Thomas Mountain, N.Y. | Erin Schumaker/POLITICO This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Flying on fat and sugar: That’s what a Virgin Atlantic test flight did from London to New York City last week, the Washington Post reports. It was a milestone in the transition to cleaner fuels, but don’t expect your flights to use anything but jet fuel anytime soon, experts said. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Evan Peng at epeng@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp. Today on our Pulse Check podcast, host Lauren Gardner talks with Ruth, who explains why legislators are worried that tech companies like Google are deploying artificial intelligence in health care products and services before regulations protecting patients are set. Listen to today’s Pulse Check podcast TECH MAZE Hackers have targeted health care organizations to steal data and extract ransoms. | Getty Images The federal agency responsible for health care regulation has missed a Biden administration deadline to track cybersecurity incidents affecting its systems. The Health and Human Services Department isn’t alone, according to a new report from the watchdog arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office. Twenty agencies missed the August deadline to comprehensively log the incidents. HHS was one of 20 departments and major independent agencies to miss the deadline set by the White House more than two years ago, with HHS and 16 others even failing to fulfill the requirements deemed of the highest importance. Three agencies, the General Services Administration, the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Agency for International Development, have reached that preliminary level. Why it matters: Hackers are targeting health care organizations. Health data breaches reported to HHS’ Office for Civil Rights have soared in 2023, on pace to double last year’s total, according to an analysis by POLITICO’s Ben Leonard of the latest agency data. What’s next? HHS said it intended to comply with the logging requirements but needed to “balance future actions with the projected significant costs of capturing and storing data.” The agency also said it would help if the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an arm of the Homeland Security Department, provided guidance on the data most important to log to respond effectively to cybersecurity incidents. The GAO report acknowledged the significant cost of data storage and suggested federal funding sources. FOLLOW THE MONEY Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October. | Getty Images Credit ratings agencies predict a rough 2024 for many health care companies as high interest rates make it harder to pay back loans or secure new ones. More health companies are expected to default on their debt next year compared with years before, a new report from Moody’s predicts. The company looked at health providers, pharmaceutical companies, medical device makers and other health care businesses. Moody’s says nearly 1 in 5 of the companies it examined are credit risks. “Against a backdrop of excessive leverage, elevated interest rates and expiring interest rate hedges, many companies will have no other options but to default in 2024,” the analysis found. The companies at risk of default in the coming year have risen by about three percentage points compared with last year’s outlook. Ten health companies have defaulted so far this year, according to Moody’s data. Meanwhile: Nonprofit hospitals’ challenges aren’t letting up, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. A lack of ready cash, rising costs and workforce shortages are likely to continue, according to the report. Even so: Those forces aren’t affecting every facility. About 20 percent of nonprofit hospitals have seen their credit ratings improve, and many hospitals haven’t had a rating change. Still, the number of downgrades has continued to rise since 2021.   Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker Evan Peng @thepngfile   Follow us

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