Health spending in the United States has risen dramatically over the past few decades, growing from about 5 percent of gross domestic product in 1960 to over 16 percent today. Leading experts argue that medical innovation is the principal driver of health spending growth, and studies based on the widely cited RAND Health Insurance Experiment concluded that expanded health insurance coverage through the creation of Medicare did not add substantially to the growth in health spending.

Professor Amy Finkelstein will present new evidence contradicting these views. She finds that the introduction of Medicare has fundamentally altered the nature of medical practice, leading to a substantial number of new hospitals in the market and increased adoption of new medical technologies. A panel of experts will debate the significance of these findings and their implication for public policy.