Amazon & Co. CEO: top health cost isn't drugs
Dr. Atul Gawande, the surgeon named to head the company formed in an effort to cut employee health care costs, recently spoke at the annual meeting of America’s Health Insurance Plans.
Dr. Atul Gawande, the surgeon named to head the company formed in an effort to cut employee health care costs, said at the annual meeting of America’s Health Insurance Plans, “We are screaming right now about pharmaceutical costs … and that is just 10 percent” of all U.S. health care spending, Reuters reports. The report also cites him pointing out “how patients faced with a $200 drug co-pay see that as standing between them and their health.”
In addition, Gawande, who practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, criticized end-of-life care for not taking into account patients’ wishes.
The selection of Gawande to head up the new health care venture launched in January has alerted investors to the potential for the venture to focus on the whole health care system, according to the report, instead of just cutting prescription drug costs as had been expected. The companies say they plan to use big-data analysis and other high-tech tools to improve care and cut waste.
As Gawande focuses on surgery rather than prescription drugs, he spoke at the meeting about how he has worked with hospitals to standardize procedures not just to cut costs but also to get better patient results.
In the report, he says, “We need to act through data tracking … to see when treatments are benefiting and when they are not.”
End-of-life care is something he says has room for improvement, noting, “People have priorities besides just living longer. We have to ask that, but we don’t ask. … The result is the care we provide is not in alignment with their priorities.”
He’s also concerned about any move to allow health plans to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions, according to the report. He said, “That is a disaster for any kind of health care. … Life is the accumulation of chronic illnesses.” He also says that high-deductible health plans tailored for catastrophic coverage lead patients to ignore chronic health needs — and that in itself drives up overall spending.