Duke Law Live! Transforming the Healthcare Sector

June 05, 2019 • 6:00 PM • Chicago, IL

Warren Buffet recently called medical costs "the tapeworm of American economic competitiveness." The United States continues to spend more of its GDP on healthcare than any other industrialized nation, yet neither Republican nor Democratic health reform proposals target the problem of rising costs. One problem is that policymakers focus on the purchasing of healthcare-regulating insurance markets or monitoring what patients receive-without scrutinizing the production of healthcare. Duke Law Professor Barak Richman will explore how the healthcare sector can transform into a more affordable and sustainable part of the American economy. Necessary elements will include reorienting the sector to digital technologies, abandoning costly infrastructures, reconceptualizing the role of traditional personnel and practices, and pursuing legal reforms that will emphasize promoting health, not purchasing healthcare.