Solving the Prevention Puzzle Before It Solves Us

Unlike other high-income nations, avoidable deaths have been on the rise in the U.S. for over a decade. America has pulled off the impossible: we're spending twice as much on healthcare as other countries while somehow getting sicker every year. The math is not mathing: we spend the most, live increasingly in poor health, and die from things that shouldn't kill us. Changing the healthcare payment formula to better incentivize prevention is a goal of the new HHS leader, but can this really be done within the confines of our current system? Can we actually reduce the entrenched interests from organizations influencing how doctors are paid and incentivize preventive services? Cue the debate! On the one hand, we move less, eat worse and stress more than our peers in other countries, so maybe systemic changes are not the solution. But on the other hand, we have the most brilliant healthcare minds, tech powerhouses and access to funding out there, so are we just getting in our own way here? We've proven we can spend our way to the bottom of global health rankings; now let's see if we can innovate our way to the top.