Health Equity

Health care needs to be “disrupted,” but not in the way startups think

Abstract: To Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, health care is a sector ripe for disruption. They’re not wrong, given skyrocketing health care spending that’s yielding diminishing returns on health. From high-tech fitness trackers to genome sequencing and pill delivery services, the number of health care startups has exploded. In 2018, investors poured more than $8 billion into digital health startups, up from $5.7 billion invested the year before on the promise of shaking up health care, and innovating our way to better health.

Date Published: August 18, 2019

Author(s): Shannon Brownlee, Benjamin F. Miller, Vikas Saini

Publication: The San Francisco Examiner

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This analysis of California’s state budget from 2007 to 2018 finds that to ensure the long-term health of the state, California needs to eliminate health care waste and direct the savings toward increased funding for programs that improve community conditions—like public education, public health, housing assistance, food assistance, and income support.