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High costs, low value and less than optimal outcomes continue to be problematic in the U.S. health care system, even as patients feel they personally get good treatment, according to an analysis from Trilliant Health.<\/p>\n
The new report<\/a>, \u201c2025 Trends Shaping the Health Economy,\u201d is the latest dismal appraisal<\/a> of health care writ large. Health care expenditures are projected to represent 20.3% of the nation\u2019s gross domestic product by 2033, and \u201cit is increasingly clear that the inputs of the U.S. health care system vastly exceed its outputs,\u201d according to the breakdown by the Brentwood, Tennessee, economic analytical firm.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reputation of the U.S. health care system precedes itself \u2013 it is expensive, complex and inefficient,\u201d Trilliant Health Chief Research Officer Allison Oakes, PhD, said in a news release. \u201cUnderstanding why begins with the recognition that, regardless of tax status, the \u2018system\u2019 is a collection of profit-seeking businesses treating illness \u2014 \u2018no margin, no mission\u2019 \u2014 rather than a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to promoting health.\u201d<\/p>\n At a crossroads \u2014 and in a \u2018doom loop\u2019 The report analyzed the health care system across six trends and reached the conclusion that \u201cthe health economy is at a crossroads.\u201d Health care needs market discipline to control costs, improve outcomes, and generally break through the current \u201cdoom loop\u201d working against reform. If not, governmental controls could be a solution \u2014 but not necessarily one that physicians, patients, health systems, researchers, insurers, and drug makers want.<\/p>\n The solution could come in \u201cfirst principles\u201d thinking that deconstructs health care to its most fundamental truths. Trilliant Health suggested questions that health care leaders must ask:<\/p>\n Is it necessary? The health care system is intended to connect patients with physicians and other clinicians for medical care. Leaders can ask what that means for everyone else.Which stakeholders currently provide value to the system by delivering essential services or goods? In a functioning market, patients could compare providers based on measurable outcomes and costs, rewarding good performers and pressuring high-cost, low-value ones to adapt or close.Do you want to make change happen, or do you want change to happen to you? \u201cThe critical question, then, is whether the health economy will undertake reforms that align incentives with value for money, or whether inaction will invite externally imposed solutions that redefine the system on less favorable terms,\u201d the report said.Neglecting the fundamentals, including primary care<\/p>\n Trilliant Health identified primary care among the key trends, and measured more patients used behavorial health services than primary care in 2024. From 2018 to 2024, primary care visits net dropped 7.3%, while behavioral health services grew by 43.7%<\/p>\n The United States lags in primary care capacity and utilization, with 72.7% of U.S. counties designated as primary care professional shortage areas. Meanwhile, specialist physicians are averaging almost twice the salary of primary care doctors.<\/p>\n Trilliant Health noted a significant change in retail primary care, even in spite of multi-billion-dollar investment. CVS Health is scaling back its retail efforts, Amazon is pivoting to specialty pharmacy, while Walgreens and Walmart largely have exited the market, though Walmart retains a strong retail pharmacy infrastructure.<\/p>\n Price and affordability<\/p>\n Since 2009, medical care prices are up 54.5%, outpacing the 45.7% increase of overall consumer prices. Health insurance premiums have climbed 85.7% from 2010 to 2024. For patients who need care, medical debt breeds financial toxicity, creating negative effects on patient financial well-being.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/794c0633c1534ffb8bc4bb792b9a7981955e3829-1200x1280.png\"\/)
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