by Peter Brodie, MBA student; Thomas Crawford, MBA; Scott Fabry, MBA student;
Cindy Hayes, MBA student; Heather Hodgeman, MBA student; Martin Green, PhD
The increasing cost of health care has become a bipartisan theme for local, state, and national politicians, and will inevitably culminate in systemic health care reform. It is unsettling that the focus is on the effect (cost) and not the multitude of causes (cost- shifting due to fixed, less than cost, remuneration, unaffordable malpractice premiums, the defensive practice of medicine due to litigation, the shortage of qualified healthcare professionals, the price of matching and pacing technological advances, soaring fees for pharmaceuticals, etc.).
