The Discussion at Consumer Health World

Posted on | December 13, 2006 | Comments Off on The Discussion at Consumer Health World

Health Politics is on location this week at the Consumer Health World conference in Washington D.C., and we’re getting a close-up look at just how quickly the consumer empowerment movement is taking hold.

The focus here is on giving patients more choice and control over their health care decisions, largely by giving them more control over the spending of their health care dollars.

I’ve said before that our health care system is going to be largely shaped by non-traditional players over the next few years – from technology companies like Intel to traditional banking giants. And we’re seeing plenty of evidence here of the new influence in health care from the banking community – which is aggressively getting into the HSA market (health savings accounts) and whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. A good example is an ad from a health savings account provider that ran in the Consumer Health World conference program. “What does a traditional banker really know about health care?” reads the headline, followed by this: “You get one chance to make Health Savings Accounts work. Do you really want to trust this to a bank with little or no health care experience?”

Whether it has the experience or not, the financial sector smells opportunity in health care. And I believe its super-advanced information and transactional infrastructure could indeed be a good thing for our health system – if it brings its resources to bear with input and partnership from the provider community. Monday I spoke with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who visited the conference to discuss his Center for Healthcare Transformation, and he has a lot to say about how private sector players, such as banks, will change the face of our health system. To hear more of Mr. Gingrich’s views, watch our Health Politics interviews from Consumer Health World, featured on our homepage. In the meantime – what are your views on the influence of the banking community in health care?