Town Hall Meeting Sparks Thought-provoking Discussion About US Healthcare Spending

A diverse group of health care experts and stakeholders participated in the Going Below The Surface (GBTS) Forum’s first ever virtual town hall meeting last month in Austin, TX. The focus of the discussion were two questions central to the healthcare debate: how much do we want to spend on health care, and how do we want to spend those dollars?

Dr. Robert Dubois, Interim President and CEO and Chief Science Officer of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), reminded participants that health care spending in the US has been a topic of concern and discussion for quite some time.  “In 1960, health spending accounted for about five percent of GDP. It doubled by the late 1980s and rose to nearly 15 percent at the start of this century. It’s currently at 18 percent and is projected to hit 20 percent by 2028,” Dr. Dubois noted. Find out more here.