The Future Of Health Insurance - The Medical Futurist

Summary

The video script discusses the challenges and potential of health insurance in the context of socialized and private systems. It highlights the role of AI, wearable sensors, and big data in shifting from reactive to preventive care. The script raises concerns about data privacy and the ethical implications of using genetic information in insurance, advocating for regulation to prevent over-surveillance while allowing consumers to benefit from a more personalized and cost-effective healthcare system.

Takeaways

• 🏥 In countries with socialized medicine, innovations are hard to roll out nationwide due to affordability issues.
• 💸 In countries with private health insurance, expensive treatments like cancer care are only accessible to the privileged.
• 🚫 Politicians working to remove coverage and insurers denying service to people with pre-existing conditions create additional challenges.
• 🔄 The insurance business needs to change and is bound to change with the advent of new technologies.
• 🤖 Artificial intelligence and wearable sensors will transform the health insurance landscape.
• 📊 Electronic medical records and big data analytics will shift care from reactive to preventive and personalized.
• 📉 Health insurance is risky because insurers lack detailed health information to make informed investments.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Digital health will encourage individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle, potentially leading to reduced premiums.
• 🎁 Companies like Oscar Health are already rewarding healthy behavior with incentives like Amazon gift cards.
• 🧬 Advances in genetic research, like those by DeCode Genetics, can predict health risks for entire populations.
• 🛑 The ethical use of health data is crucial, and regulators must prevent misuse by insurers.
• 👁️ There is a risk of insurers leveraging health data to increase premiums for high-risk patients or requiring genetic tests.
• ⚖️ Regulators must ensure data privacy and prevent a 'Big Brother' scenario where insurers control personal health decisions.
• 📈 Sharing fitness tracker data with insurers could lead to a more effective and sustainable health insurance system, provided data privacy is maintained.

Q & A

What is the main challenge for innovations in countries with socialized medicine?

Innovations are difficult to roll out nationwide because the system as a whole cannot afford it due to the need to provide basic care to everyone.

Why are certain treatments like cancer care expensive in countries with private health insurance?

They are expensive because only the privileged with good insurance plans can afford them, highlighting the disparity in access to healthcare based on financial means.

What is the impact of politicians trying to remove millions from coverage and insurers denying service to people with pre-existing conditions?

This creates a level of horror in the healthcare system, exacerbating the challenges faced by those who need coverage the most.

How do artificial intelligence and wearable sensors aim to change the status quo in health insurance?

They will allow for the implementation of new technologies that can shift the focus from reactive to preventive and personalized care.

What is the significance of moving from reactive to preventive and personalized care in health insurance?

It is important because it can reduce the risk for insurers who currently lack enough information to make fully informed investments in a person’s future health.

Why is the current insurance market described as one-sided?

It is one-sided because companies do not reward individuals for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and most people do not take care of their health proactively.

How does Oscar Health incentivize a healthy lifestyle among its patients?

Oscar Health is testing a program where patients receive Amazon gift cards as rewards for achieving their daily goals as measured by a FitBit activity tracker.

What is the potential of big data in the context of health insurance?

Big data can provide extensive information on health parameters, allowing for more personalized and preventive care, and even the prediction of genetic predispositions to diseases.

What ethical dilemma does DeCode Genetics face with its DNA data collection in Iceland?

DeCode Genetics can identify individuals at high risk for deadly cancers but is currently unable to warn them due to the ethical rules of their research.

What potential issues could arise from health insurance companies having access to extensive health data?

There is a risk that companies may use this data to increase premiums for high-risk patients or require genetic tests as a condition for coverage, potentially leading to privacy and discrimination concerns.

What role should regulators play in the future of health insurance with the advent of new technologies?

Regulators must be at the forefront of innovation to ensure that the use of health data by insurance companies does not infringe on personal privacy and autonomy, preventing the creation of a 'Dr. Big Brother' scenario.

Why would an individual be willing to share their fitness tracker data with a health insurance company?

An individual might be willing to share their data to enjoy the rewards of living a healthy life, such as reduced premiums, as long as they retain control over their data and can decide what and who to share it with.

Outlines

00:00

🏥 Challenges and Innovations in Health Insurance

The script discusses the difficulties of implementing healthcare innovations in countries with socialized medicine due to financial constraints and the high cost of treatments like cancer care in private insurance systems. It highlights the need for change in the insurance industry and the potential of artificial intelligence, wearable sensors, and big data analytics to shift from reactive to preventive and personalized care. The importance of this shift is underscored by the risks involved in health insurance, where both insurers and insured face challenges due to insufficient health information for informed decisions and the reluctance to pay for others' healthcare choices.

Keywords

💡Socialized Medicine

Socialized medicine refers to a system where healthcare services are provided by the state or through a publicly funded program, ensuring access to basic care for everyone. In the context of the video, it is mentioned that while such systems provide universal coverage, they struggle with the widespread adoption of medical innovations due to financial constraints.

💡Private Health Insurance

Private health insurance is a system where individuals obtain health coverage through private companies, often based on premium payments. The script highlights the issue that certain treatments, like cancer care, can be prohibitively expensive under this system, making them accessible only to those with comprehensive insurance plans.

💡Pre-existing Conditions

A pre-existing condition is a health problem that existed before the start of a health insurance policy. The video discusses the negative impact of insurers denying service to people with such conditions, emphasizing the need for change in the insurance industry to prevent such discrimination.

💡Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The script suggests that AI, along with other new technologies, will play a significant role in the future of health insurance by enabling preventive and personalized care.

💡Wearable Sensors

Wearable sensors are small devices that can be worn on the body to monitor health metrics such as heart rate, sleep patterns, and physical activity. The video mentions these as part of the technological advancements that will help change the status quo in health insurance by providing more data for personalized care.

💡Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are digital versions of a patient's paper charts, containing all of the notes, medications, treatments, and other relevant health information. The script points out that the spread of EMRs, combined with big data analytics, will facilitate a shift from reactive to preventive healthcare.

💡Big Data Analytics

Big data analytics is the process of examining large and complex datasets to extract valuable insights or information. The video explains how this can be used in healthcare to analyze patient data, leading to more informed investment decisions by insurers and better health outcomes for individuals.

💡Preventive Care

Preventive care refers to health services that are meant to prevent the development of diseases or conditions. The script emphasizes the importance of moving from a reactive healthcare system to one that is preventive, enabled by the insights gained from big data and digital health technologies.

💡Personalized Care

Personalized care is a healthcare approach that tailors treatments and health plans to the individual needs and characteristics of each patient. The video discusses how digital health technologies can enable this by providing detailed health data, allowing for more customized health insurance plans.

💡Health Parameters

Health parameters are measurable indicators of health status, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol levels. The script mentions that the ability to measure these parameters is crucial for insurers to make informed decisions and for individuals to take control of their health.

💡Genetic Testing

Genetic testing is a type of medical test that identifies changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins. The video raises the possibility that health insurance companies may require genetic tests to provide personalized plans, which could lead to ethical and privacy concerns.

💡Regulators

Regulators are government agencies or other authoritative bodies that oversee and enforce rules and standards within a particular industry. The script calls for regulators to be proactive in the face of health data innovation to ensure that privacy is protected and that health insurance remains accessible and fair.

💡Data Privacy

Data privacy refers to the protection of personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. The video discusses the ethical implications of health insurance companies accessing personal health data and the importance of maintaining control over one's own health information.

Highlights

In countries with socialized medicine, innovations are difficult to implement due to financial constraints.

Cancer care in private insurance systems is often unaffordable for those without comprehensive insurance plans.

Political actions and insurance practices can exacerbate healthcare inaccessibility for those with pre-existing conditions.

The necessity for change in the insurance business is emphasized, with an inevitable shift towards new technologies.

Artificial intelligence and wearable sensors are predicted to revolutionize the health insurance industry.

The adoption of electronic medical records and big data analytics is set to transform healthcare from reactive to preventive and personalized.

Health insurance is characterized as a high-risk business due to the lack of predictive health data.

Digital health initiatives aim to motivate individuals to live healthier lives, addressing the current one-sided insurance market.

Oscar Health is pioneering a reward system for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, using activity trackers to measure progress.

The potential of big data in healthcare extends to genetic analysis, with DeCode Genetics as a notable example.

DeCode Genetics has the capability to predict genetic predispositions for deadly diseases in the Icelandic population.

Ethical considerations are highlighted in the use of genetic data, with restrictions on warning individuals of risks.

The future of healthcare is expected to be significantly influenced by the utilization of vast health data sets.

There are concerns about how health insurance companies may use personal health data, potentially impacting premiums and coverage.

Regulators play a crucial role in ensuring the ethical use of health data and preventing the emergence of a surveillance state.

The speaker expresses willingness to share fitness tracker data with insurers for a more equitable and effective healthcare system.

The importance of individual control over personal health data is underscored, with the speaker advocating for choice in data sharing.

Transcripts

In countries with socialized medicine, where everyone has access to basic care, innovations

are hard to roll out nationwide as the system as a whole cannot afford it.

In countries with private health insurance, certain treatments such as cancer care are

so expensive that only the privileged with good insurance plans can afford them.

And where politicians actively work to throw millions off of their coverage and insurers

deny service to people with pre-existing conditions, it’s a whole new level of horror.

The insurance business has to change.

But it’s also bound to change.

Let’s see what the future of health insurance will look like.

Artificial intelligence and new technologies such as wearable sensors will change the status

quo and insurance companies will certainly try to implement these into practice.

The spread of electronic medical records and big data analytics will make it possible to

move from reactive care to preventive and personalized care.

Why is it important?

Because health insurance is a risky business.

From the insurers’ side, they can’t get enough information to make fully informed

investments in a person’s future health.

Companies can obtain information on a patient’s gender, age and some basic details about lifestyle,

but if they cannot measure any health parameters, the value of the investment remains questionable.

From the insured’s side, you simply don’t want to pay for someone else’s healthcare

who chooses to live an unhealthy life.

So how does digital health change this?

First of all, it will motivate you to live a healthy life.

It’s a key problem that today’s insurance market is one-sided.

Companies don’t reward you for staying healthy and most people don’t take care of their

health the way they should.

They simply pay up, and when a symptom arises, they’ll hope their doctors can fix the problem.

But imagine to get reduced premiums if you keep a healthy lifestyle.

An American insurance company, Oscar Health, is testing those waters.

Their patients get Amazon gift cards as rewards for achieving their daily goals as measured

by a FitBit activity tracker.

It’s a small start, but a start nevertheless.

And much more can be done.

Even today, patients can measure sleep quality, physical activity, stress and blood pressure,

and many other parameters at home.

But big data can go so much further than that.

An Iceland based company, DeCode Genetics, says it has collected full DNA sequences of

over 10,000 individuals.

And because people in Iceland are closely related, DeCode says it can now also extrapolate

to accurately guess the DNA makeup of nearly all other 320,000 citizens of the country,

including those who never participated in its studies.

What does it mean?

According to their CEO, they are able to identify everyone from the country who has a deadly

cancer risk.

The only problem, they are unable to yet warn those people because of the ethical rules

of their research.

But it’s inevitable that these amazing data sets about our health and our lifestyle will

change healthcare as we know it.

So is the future all bright and shiny?

Well, not exactly.

It is no question that this immense amount of health data will be utilized by health

insurance companies.

The question is rather how they will do it.

What if companies will only provide patients with insurance if they are allowed to access

all of their data, including data coming from sleep and fitness trackers, the blood pressure

and ECG they store and the gadgets they use to assess their general well-being.

What if companies will leverage on that data to make premiums higher for high-risk patients?

What about predominantly genetic and not lifestyle-related problems?

What if insurers take pre-existing conditions one step further and require genetic tests

to provide a personalized plan?

That’s why regulators must be at the forefront of innovation.

Only they can ensure to avoid the creation of a Dr. Big Brother who watches us, has access

to every detail of our lives and thus impacts our personal decisions.

We must at all costs avoid a scenario where someone would control what we eat, when we

exercise and when we lay down to sleep.

But if I need to share my fitness tracker’s data with my health insurance company to enjoy

the rewards of living a healthy life and to have an equally compensated healthcare system,

I’m happy to do that.

As long as I’m the sole authority over my health data, and I can decide what and who

I choose to share it with, it’s a small price to pay for a cheaper, sustainable, and

ultimately, a more effective health insurance system.