Unpacking Healthcare Costs

In this chapter, Dr. Schupbach analyzes the business of healthcare and a way he believes can let patients wage war on the mis-alligned incentives. This is a continuation of our Grand Rounds sequence. Come join Alex and Venk on this adventure!

TEASER

Specifically, childhood obesity is skyrocketing--1 in 5 children are now above the 95th percentile BMI for age and sex. A recent NEJM article showed Liraglutide (a medication that costs approximately $12,000 per year) was effective in children as young as 6 years old. This is just one example of many where cheap foods, expensive drugs, and band-aid solutions are generating record profits for the most powerful voices at the table. But are we truly acting in the best interests of our patients? What are the unintended consequences of these misaligned incentives? What is our responsibility in all this and where do we start if we want to be part of the solution?