A recent Time cover story exposed a “uniquely American gold rush” for hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device makers at the expense of patients and those who pay their bills. After spending more than half a year analyzing health care bills and interviewing patients, hospital executives, and billing advocates, journalist Steven Brill found that patients and other health care purchasers are charged exorbitant prices, with markups as high as 10,000 percent.
While the Affordable Care Act took steps to address the excessive quantity of health care services, reforms that address the high costs of services are also needed to control health care spending. The Center for American Progress has offered a package of reforms to do just that. Please join us at the Center for American Progress for a timely and important discussion of an issue that affects us all: excessive health care costs.
The Center for American Progress thanks the Peter G. Peterson Foundation for its support of our Health Policy programs. The views and opinions expressed in this event are those of the Center for American Progress and the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The Center for American Progress produces independent research and policy ideas driven by solutions that we believe will create a more equitable and just world.
Introductory remarks:
Neera Tanden, President and CEO, Center for American Progress
Featured speaker:
Steven Brill, journalist and author of “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills are Killing Us,” published in Time magazine
Distinguished panelists:
Giovanni Colella M.D., CEO and co-founder, Castlight Health
Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D. Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Vice Provost, University of Pennsylvania
Moderated by:
Topher Spiro, Vice President of Health Policy, Center for American Progress