Want to talk about the obesity epidemic that doesn't get as much press as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's supersized soft drink ban? It's the bloated waistline, and bottom line, of the health care industry itself. <\/p>\n
Spending on health care now running at roughly $3 trillion per year -- is on its way to 34 percent of GDP by 2040, according to the federal government.<\/p>\n
Here's a few more eye-opening ways to examine GDP and the health care system: the government contends that cutting into health care costs by just 1.5 percent would increase real GDP by over 2 percent in 2020 and nearly 8 percent in 2030. It also claims that as much as 30 percent of health care costs (or about 5 percent of GDP) could be saved without compromising health outcomes.<\/p>\n
Health care has been a pretty bad investment. All that money into the system isn't improving our health or the patient experience. We may be living longer than ever before, but we aren't getting collectively better at a reasonable price. The percentage of personal bankruptcies with a medical cause? Sixty-two percent, according to a study by Harvard University researchers.<\/p>\n
Sounds like disruption is just what the doctor ordered.<\/p>\n
The five health care companies on the inaugural CNBC Disruptor 50 List are: 23andMe, Audax Health, Castlight Health, Ginger.io, and ZocDoc.<\/p>\n
Ironically, some of the health care companies being disrupted are now prescribing disruption to their own patients. And that's not as unhealthy as it may seem. <\/p>\n
As the CEO of Audax Health, Grant Verstandig, told CNBC, health care companies know that between the Affordable Care Act and the pressure from startups like his--whose businesses are being fostered by technological leaps--the competitive landscape is changing, and not in the favor of a wasteful, overpriced health care market. Prices are going to come down, and companies that want to be health care survivor stories will have to do a better job of competing.<\/p>\n
That's why companies like Aetna and Cigna have top executives on the board of Audax Health, and why Cardinal Health is a client. These companies want to be the health care sector leaders that eventually get a larger share of the market through more competitive offerings. The lazy incumbents with legacy revenue streams who don't adapttypical of a disrupted companywill be forced out of the market, as consumers are provided more and better information. <\/p>\n
As with many disruptive innovations driven by technology, the biggest force for change in health care is you, the passive health care system participant.<\/p>\n
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Read more:<\/p>\n
Technology to Trim America's Health Care Fat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Want to talk about the obesity epidemic that doesn't get as much press as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's supersized soft drink ban? It's the bloated waistline, and bottom line, of the health care industry itself. Spending on health care now running at roughly $3 trillion per year -- is on its way to 34 percent of GDP by 2040, according to the federal government. Continue reading