How will we survive… not with incremental change…
Consider the
$3 Trillion healthcare bill that we had last year…. These are all the costs of
generating or curing, hopefully healthy people in the USA, each and every year.
For those who know a little about numbers, the “Rule of 70” tells us that if the
cost of healthcare continues at the average annual rate of 6%... the cost of healthcare in the USA in
2027 will be about $6 Trillion… that’s
$6,000,000,000,000.
That is also over
17% of the USA GDP... that is a GDP that is growing at an annual rate of less
than 2.5%.
So, what will the
GDP in the USA be in 2027 if it continues to grow at the 2.5% rate. Simple compounding
gets us to $23 trillion, or so. By that time, 2027, healthcare will be over 25%
of the GDP of the USA. Interestingly, the Federal Government budget is only
$3.7 Trillion.
Healthcare costs
for the nation seems to be completely unsustainable! Yet, we continue to work
in the government as if we can just print money to keep its part floating… but
what can the folks who are spending from their own bank account do?
The current model
in the US, with the highest per capita costs in the developed world is also
getting the poorest quality… aside medical research and cancer survival rates,
the USA ranks 10th or worse in each other category (see the graphic
below). Again, if the dollars are unsustainable, what will happen to what is
already among the worst outcomes… especially when we are paying out over 2
times what the other counties are paying?
The incremental
changes we discuss in the government generally keep the ecosystem currently in
place for healthcare in the USA the same as it has been since the 1950’s.
Doctors, Hospitals, Pharmaceutical companies and Insurance companies are the
focus. Regulations and standards are based on keeping them profitable, under
all circumstances… regardless of quality. The system is not working!
The focus needs to
be on the patient. The patient needs to be in control of her file and able do
decide what is best for her and her family. This is not the case today, as
anyone with an experience bordering on or including a catastrophic event. If
other countries can do it (again, have a look at the chart below), then the USA
can do it, too.
But it needs to be brave!
But it needs to be
brave!
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