FORBES | This is the second in a four-part series on the Health Affairs Council on Health Care Spending and Value’s February 2023 report, “A Road Map for Action.” Each piece details one of the four priority areas within the report, which include recommendations on how the US can take a more deliberate approach to moderating health care spending growth while maximizing value. I served as co-chair of this initiative, along with former FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg. This piece outlines our recommended actions on price regulation and supports for competition.

Why does the US spend more per capita on health care than any other nation? Well, according to renowned health care economist Dr. Uwe Reinhardt, “It’s the prices, stupid.”

While that’s putting it simply, many believe, like Dr. Reinhardt so often stated, that our health care spending is more in large part because we are willing to pay more for it. And recent data suggest that we are indeed willing to pay a lot more for health care services. In fact, about 20% of our nation’s GDP was attributed to health care in 2020.

But it’s not just our willingness to pay more for health care in the US – and spending more or paying higher prices than other countries isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But doing either without seeing an improvement in quality of care is a problem. And this is exactly what is happening: high rates of growth when it comes to prices that are disproportional to the health and equity produced. This places a significant and increasing burden on everyone including our families, companies, and government.

Read more at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrist/2023/02/21/a-road-map-for-action-on-health-care-spending-and-value-part-ii–price-regulation-and-supports-for-competition/?sh=b6115f63a2f1