This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Johnson & Johnson CEO discusses future of health care
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Alex Gorsky
Health care in the United States will need continued innovation and a commitment to improvement from legislators and industry alike for a sustainable future, Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson, said at the OCTANe Ophthalmology Technology Summit.
Gorsky discussed the country’s changing health care landscape in an interview with Jim Mazzo, global president of ophthalmic devices at Carl Zeiss Meditec, during the meeting in Newport Beach, California, in June. He focused on how industry leaders and legislators in Washington need to work together to improve the Affordable Care Act and how America’s aging population will benefit from a continued dedication to finding cures and treatments for what ails them.
“Ultimately, we have to end up with a way that patients can get access to care that is high quality, cost effective and sustainable, but we’ve also got to continue to foster this innovation environment that we created because we’re going to need even more of it,” Gorsky said.
As legislators discuss repealing and replacing the ACA, Gorsky remembered what came before the plan and why it was necessary, as well as how health care coverage will need to continue to move forward.
“If we go back pre-ACA, we had a very significant issue. It was compounded by the recession of 2010, of 2012,” he said. “You had a lot of people out of work. The majority of people out of work were over 45 years of age, and because of the system we had, they were therefore without insurance. To me it was unconscionable that we had up to 45 million people who were un- or underinsured.”
While the ACA has its flaws and is most likely not sustainable in its current form, it is a vast improvement from the previous system, which Gorsky said was completely unsustainable. However, the ACA can be improved upon with compromise and forward-thinking, he added.
“We can make insurance systems work better. I think we can continue to evolve some of our payment structures from a straight fee for service to things that are more outcomes based, things that are more value based,” Gorsky said. “As we go forward, we continue to work with legislators on the Hill, let’s work with the current system. Make these necessary changes, and I think we can find solutions that ultimately are in a patient’s best interest and also allow our country and businesses like ours to survive and thrive. ... All of us who participate in this system know it can be more effective and efficient.”
Gorsky also focused on the importance of innovative ideas in both pharmaceuticals and medical devices during his interview with Mazzo, saying that the nation’s growing aging population will need breakthroughs in these fields.
In the past century, innovation has led to an increased life span, which is directly correlated with innovation in medicine, and quality of life will continue to increase with dedication to that same type of innovation, he said.
“What’s going to be one of the biggest drivers of health care costs? Alzheimer’s disease. We need to find a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, and that’s only going to happen if we continue to innovate,” Gorsky said. “One thing I really emphasize when I’m on the Hill is if we stop innovating, even if we hold costs or prices locked where they are, sheer demand will bankrupt us in the future. Innovation has got to be part of what we’re doing, and we have to keep that ecosystem ... alive and thriving and doing well.” – by Rebecca L. Forand