Many experts are recommending policy changes to make government programs more efficient and effective. Learn more about the issue in this video with HealthMaker Debra Whitman.
Public programs particularly Medicare and Medicaid are facing fiscal pressures. And at the same time, they are hugely inefficient. The institute of medicine show that there is about a third of all spending and it's waste. Sometimes it's waste because you are duplicating tasks, sometimes it's waste because you doing a procedure that isn't necessary, sometime you are actually causing harm with procedures then you need to fix them.
So first of all, we need to look at that, I think we also need to look at other health care cost drivers like prescription drugs, medical devices. The government has no ability to negotiate or try and use the huge purchasing power of many, many people and purchase those drugs to reduce the cost.
Debra Whitman is AARP’s executive vice president for policy, strategy and international affairs. She is an authority on aging issues with experience in national policymaking, domestic and international research and the political process.
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