The Biggest Quote Waste Is the Over Treatment, Over Diagnosis, Over Treatment

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Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in this country. Estimates are over a couple of hundred people a year in the US die from medical mistakes. That's really one of the consequences of a health care system that is focused so much on simply doing things to people regardless of outcome. Instead of having capitalism in our tailwinds where we could be driving towards better health, I say with some trepidation.

Physician and author Vivian Lee talks about her book The Long Fix with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Lee argues that we can transform health care in the United States, though it may take a while. She argues that the current fee-for-service system incentivizes doctors to provide services rather than keep patients healthy and that these are not the same thing. Topics explored include innovations in Medicare and in technology that might change treatment incentives as well as the weird world of health care pricing.