Health Care Access & Coverage
Has the U.S. Cured Health Care Cost Growth?
A Conversation with Melinda J.B. Buntin, PhD, Amitabh Chandra, PhD, and Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, moderated by Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD
For decades, many policymakers have declared that U.S. health care spending has been growing at unsustainable rates. But a surprising new trend has emerged: with the exception of 2020, health care costs have remained at or below 18% of GDP since 2010 – the longest stretch of no-cost-growth relative to GDP since at least 1965, when Medicare and Medicaid were created. What is driving this change? Did the Affordable Care Act drive efficiencies throughout the sector? Is innovation and market competition keeping cost growth low? Has increased cost transparency helped or are patients using less care? Is the trend ending? This virtual seminar will explore health care cost trends and unpack potential drivers of this change and what it means for the years to come.
Speakers
Melinda J.B. Buntin, PhD
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Economics Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Vanderbilt University
Amitabh Chandra, PhD
Malcolm Wiener Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD
Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine; Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Health Care Management, Wharton School
