The Paradox of Health Spending and Life Expectancy

Dr. John Abramson (@drjohnabramson) is a physician, lecturer of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, and author of Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine. His latest book is Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It.

• Despite spending an excess $1.6 trillion on healthcare per year compared to other wealthy countries, the amount of time that Americans live in good health ranks a lowly 68th in the world.
• The pharmaceutical industry, aka Big Pharma, is more focused on making money for its shareholders than maintaining or improving the health of those who rely on its products.
• Big Pharma funds most clinical trials, controls the research agenda, withholds real data from those trials as corporate secrets, and shapes most of the information relied upon by health care professionals.
• The US and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise. The difference: Big Pharma doesn't have to endure the same level of oversight in the US as it does in New Zealand.
• While healthcare reform may seem like an uphill battle against an entrenched infrastructure of corruption, John does offer hope that it can be overhauled to benefit people over profits.
• And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/709

Miss the interview we did with sleep doctor Matthew Walker? Catch up with episode 126: Matthew Walker | Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams here!

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