As part of the Open Letter Campaign reported here previously and after many weeks of debate, a large group of physicians have collectively identified 3 main factors behind rising healthcare costs and declining access to care in the United States:

1. The insurance industry’s undue authority and control over healthcare processes
2. Excessive and misguided government regulation
3. Practice of defensive medicine in response to a harmful legal environment

The negative influence of the above “axis of waste” relate directly to the figure below, which is from a recent McKinsey Quarterly report showing the flow of healthcare dollars in the United States and the areas of inefficiency (click to enlarge):

Although the areas of inefficiency highlighted in the McKinsey Quarterly report raise significant concerns about the sustainability of our current healthcare system, they also hint at opportunities that can lead to transformation and change. More specifically, “rapid innovation may lead to a restructuring of the value chain of healthcare payments and to a shift in the sector’s balance of power.” With providers moving towards embracing new technologies and methods of directly connecting to consumers, third party payers can expect losing the influence and monopoly they enjoy in the current system. If they play their cards right, providers can soon expect greater control over their affairs and the ability to better meet the needs of their patients “as fewer dollars are wasted on transaction-processing inefficiencies” and new channels of direct-to-consumer delivery of services are created.

All in all, the future looks promising for patients and physicians.

More info: Open Letter Campaign

Filed under: Health Policy, Open Letter Campaign