Episode #80: Digging Into Healthcare Costs With Sailee Bhambere

The healthcare system in the United States is extremely expensive compared to other developed countries, and it has escalated to a point where healthcare costs have become a major financial burden for many people. In today’s episode, we have a distinguished guest who specializes in public health. Sailee Bhambere, a medical doctor with a master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University, joins us today to talk about why healthcare is so expensive in the United States. Throughout the episode, we dive deep into Sailee’s research on the issues of the US healthcare system, why it’s extremely expensive, and how it could be improved.

Show Notes

[02:28] Sailee’s Background – We start the conversation with a brief review of Sailee’s work in the healthcare industry and how her research contributes to improving the quality of healthcare.  

[05:56] Studying the Healthcare System – Sailee shares with us what she focuses on in her research to identify issues in the healthcare system. 

[09:00] Why Healthcare is Expensive – Sailee shares her take on how expensive the US healthcare system is and some of the contributing factors to these high costs. 

[14:00] Preventive Healthcare and Personal Responsibility – How our personal habits contribute to our health over a long time and how preventive healthcare could be improved in a way that makes it easier for citizens to develop healthy personal habits. 

[17:12] Free Market Capitalism and Healthcare – Grant and Sailee discuss their views on how the free market environment in the United States influence the healthcare system and how other developed countries have taken measures to reduce healthcare costs. 

[23:00] Most Important Policies – Sailee shares her thoughts on what policies she’d put in place if she had the authority to do so. 

[26:00] Complexities – Why the US healthcare system is extremely complex and how the policymakers can approach reducing the complexities. 

[31:40] Administrative Costs – The administrative costs in the US healthcare system are significantly higher than they are in other developed countries. Sailee shares her thoughts on the reasons that cause this discrepancy. 

[36:34] Burnout – One of the major issues healthcare professionals are facing across the industry is burnout, which is a result of overworking as well as complex administrative tasks embedded into their workload. Sailee shares her thoughts on how this affects the performance of the healthcare system.  

Resources

Connect with Sailee: linkedin.com/in/sailee-bhambere
Sailee’s Research: www.researchgate.net/profile/Sailee-Bhambere