Jonathan S. Skinner - MIT Technology Review en The Costly
Paradox of Health-Care Technology <p>In every industry but one,
technology makes things better and cheaper. Why is it that
innovation increases the cost of health care?</p><p>As an
economist who studies health care, I find it hard to know
whether to welcome or fear new technology. Surgeons can replace
a heart valve with a plastic and metal one that unfolds once
threaded through arteries—repairs that used to be made by
cracking open the chest. Customized cancer drugs hold the
promise of making fatal diseases treatable. At the same time,
it’s depressingly common to hear projections of fiscal
Armageddon as health-care spending drags the U.S. federal
government into debt and wipes out any wage growth for the
average American. Even a recent slowdown in spending growth
simply postpones the inevitable date when Medicare goes
bankrupt.</p> Thu, 05 Sep 2013 04:00:00 +0000