The Way the Health Care System Works Now Will Not Work in the Future

Len Nichols CHPRE

When Len was recently interviewed by the Free Lance-Star, Len stressed the importance of changing the way health care is delivered and paid. If this is not changed, “half of the families in America will be spending about a third of their income on health care”. Even if the bill is repealed, the reform legislation may not survive when challenged in court. Either way, it demonstrates that the nation’s health care system is not on a sustainable path.

In the interview, Len mentioned that “health care costs are growing faster than economy-wide productivity and faster than income”. Health care is unaffordable for Americans and will continue to be unaffordable if nothing is done. To demonstrate how unaffordable health care is becoming, Len highlighted that the “rise in per-capita income falls behind the increase in health care costs and health insurance premiums”. In Virginia, per-capita income has grown only 4%/year for the past 10 years while health care costs have risen 6%/year.

Len Nichols & Joseph Pancrazio: Health Care’s Technology Revolution

Joseph Pancrazio [Director of the Bioengineering Program in the Volgenau School of Information Technology & Engineering and Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering] and Dr. Len Nichols [Professor of Health Policy and Director of the Center for Health Policy Research & Ethics (CHPRE) at George Mason University] discuss how technology will change the way health care is delivered.

Watch the Video

Update on CHPRE’s Current Health Policy Research Projects

Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Expansion Project ~ The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has funded CHPRE to develop and promote to states a new long-term care insurance program.

Insure More Virginians ~ Virginia State Planning Grant funds allowed the Commonwealth to gather important information about its uninsured population; solicit stakeholder input about the feasibility of various models and their strategies for increasing health care coverage; and make recommendations to the Governor and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources regarding strategies for reducing the State’s uninsured population.

Division of Nursing (HRSA) - Funding Allocation Project ~ Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) requires the Division of Nursing to develop a funding allocation methodology for its education and practice programs. Please visit our DON Funding website to learn more about this project.