A Health Podyssey

Listen to Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interview Sherry Glied, dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, on national healthcare spending in 2019, whether value-based care will be transformational, and why public health is a desirable field to work in now.

Show Notes

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Every year, Health Affairs publishes a retrospective look at national healthcare spending. In 2020, Anne Martin and colleagues from the CMS Office of the Actuary found that U.S. healthcare spending increased 4.6% to $3.8 trillion in 2019. 

The rate of health spending declined slightly from 2018, which noted a growth rate of 4.7%. Hospital care, physician and clinical services, and retail purchase of prescription drugs, which accounted for 61% of total national health spending, saw faster growth rates in spending in 2019.

These figures predate the coronavirus, which has led to major changes in healthcare delivery and spending. 

In this week’s episode of A Health Podyssey, Alan Weil invites Sherry Glied, dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, to the program. They take a step back from the main findings from the paper and discuss the relationship between administrative costs and the high costs of healthcare prices. 

Listen to Sherry Glied share why she thinks value-based care won’t be transformational and how public health is a desirable field to choose a career in now.

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What is A Health Podyssey?

Each week, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry.

A Health Podyssey goes beyond the pages of the health policy journal Health Affairs to tell stories behind the research and share policy implications. Learn how academics and economists frame their research questions and journey to the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Health policy nerds rejoice! This podcast is for you.