Is Medicare Making That Decision?

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The author's father died after a five-day stay in the ICU. He says he was treated with every drug possible to try to reduce his infection chances and improve his kidney function. All of that expense was paid for by taxpayers, but no one had any incentive to take care of it, she says. "It is very helpful for physicians to understand what the costs are of the care that they're providing," Dr. David Perry writes.

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.