Zeke Emanuel’s Post

For those 75 years and older: it’s time to retire from public office. Dare I say, I agree with my brother, Ari. We need a mandatory age limit for all federal elected officials and all federal judges. No one should serve past 75.    Sure, some people will be capable of serving past 75, but just as FBI agents, pilots, foreign service officers, and board members at some corporations have mandatory retirement ages, so should federal elected officials and judges. In a country of 330 million, there are certainly plenty of competent people for these jobs. And practically speaking, a mandatory retirement age is administratively easy and fair. With an age minimum in the Constitution, the framers should have added an age maximum as well.  Let’s fix that deficiency.

Ethical principles must guide our responses to any future pandemic; however, in the latest pandemic accord, there was one key principle missing an explicit definition: sustainability. While the accord mentions “sustainability,” it does not define it or give it the status it deserves. My proposed definition: "‘Ensure that emergency responses that are appealing for the immediate problem do not imperil future responses, preparation for the next pandemic, or responding with research, development and manufacturing to subsequent pandemics.” Sustainability is not just a buzzword but a fundamental principle that must be explicitly defined and integrated into the pandemic accord. This will ensure that our responses to pandemics are ☑ Ethically sound ☑ Forward-thinking, and  ☑ Capable of addressing both current and future challenges. For more on this, check out the article I co-authored in BMJ company with G. Owen Schaefer, Govind Persad, and Maxwell J. Smith, linked in the comments. #healthcareonlinkedin #pandemic #covid19 #sustainability #bioethics

As I’ve said before, tuition free medical school does NOT change what physicians do as a career and is NOT an effective way to enhance primary care. Kudos to Bloomberg for putting income restrictions on his historic gift to The Johns Hopkins University covering tuition for students by restricting the tuition assistance to families who earn less than $300K/year. But when it comes to incentivizing med school students to go into under-staffed specialties like primary care, we have learned that free tuition is not the solution. What's more, at this point, it’s not clear that free med school tuition increases more minorities or other under-represented groups going into medicine. The US needs more doctors, especially from certain backgrounds and in certain specialties. Free tuition is great, but it needs to be more specifically targeted with strings attached. #healthcareonlinkedin #medicalschool #medicalschooltuition #primarycare #physicianshortage #tuitionfree

The problem isn't President Biden's age; it's his ability to function. From Ben Franklin to Warren Buffett and Nancy Pelosi, people have performed extraordinarily into their 80s. Biden has shown he is not one of them. Biden’s cognitive changes do not necessarily indicate dementia or neurological disease. His performance is perfectly consistent with normal aging, and a loss of "fluid intelligence." And that is just as worrisome. Many talented Democratic leaders from swing states could beat Trump. One of them should take the baton from Biden. That would truly solidify Biden’s legacy as a public servant and a successful president. Read my article in The Atlantic, linked in the comments below.

Celebrating July 4th at the Lincoln, Massachusetts reenactment parade and reading of the Declaration of Independence. The only question people were discussing was the one posed by Elizabeth Willing Powell to Benjamin Franklin: “What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”

As a scientist, I look at data. As an Emanuel, I know that elections are about winning. So let's be clear: the ONLY justification for a nominee other than President Biden is a ticket that can get to 270 electoral votes. And the election comes down to six swing states, of which four have blue governors that have proven they can win in a purple electorate. One has a popular astronaut who is a Senator. Pick the two you like, and that's the ticket. We don't need candidates from deep blues states - like California or New Jersey. We need a ticket that can win in swing states. It's the only choice.

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of Penn Washington, an initiative that will bring the University of Pennsylvania’s world-class research to our nation’s capital to address today’s most pressing issues. Also launching is the Penn Franklin Initiative, focusing on domestic policy, under the Penn Washington umbrella along with the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement. Looking forward to leading this exciting program in DC along with my colleague, Amy Gadsden. For more on these new initiatives, check out the link in the comment below.

Parents are understandably worried about their kids getting good jobs after college, but the real goal should be to gain universal skills. Ultimately, a college education should teach that it's ok to not know everything. What college students need is the ability to analyze a situation, connect the dots, and work collaboratively. And just like our greatest founding father, Benjamin Franklin, we should aim to be curious. He was a lifelong learner, constantly inventing technologies and reinventing himself. It was great to talk again with Boyd Matheson on Inside Sources about my latest op-ed in The New York Times on returning to the roots of liberal arts education (both linked in comments below). #highereducation #liberalarts #greatbooks #college #university #benfranklin

Clinical trials are designed to make sure drugs are safe and effective BUT they can take many years and cost millions. If we know a drug, like Wegovy, could help treat conditions other than obesity, why wait? Testing obesity drugs as treatments for other conditions is the way clinical research on new drugs should be done. I’m very sympathetic to clinicians who say, ‘While the researchers are getting more data, we are going to try this approach.' Much like in oncology, once a drug is approved, doctors can use it at their discretion for other illnesses. In Novo Nordisk clinical trials of Wegovy, researchers found that people with heart disease saw fewer cardiac complications even before losing weight. With Ozempic, researchers found that people with diabetes and kidney disease saw improvements in kidney function, independent of weight loss. It was great to talk with Gina Kolata at The New York Times about the revolutionary potential of GLP-1s (linked in the comments). #HealthcareInnovation #ObesityTreatment #ChronicDisease #MedicalResearch #HealthcareonLinkedIn

We live in an era where no industry is untouched by artificial intelligence, and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of medicine. Today, we stand at a turning point in the future of healthcare. I had the privilege of delving into the transformative intersection between technology and medicine on a panel with Penn Engineering Dean and roboticist Vijay Kumar at The Wharton School's #GlobalForum in São Paulo. The interplay between these two specialties has never been more crucial, and current and future advancements have the potential to revolutionize healthcare. Thanks to our moderator Alberto Duran for facilitating an engaging discussion. #healthcaretechnology #artificialintelligence #HealthcareonLinkedIn