Conference Presentation
Opening Remarks | Future of Health Summit 2024
- Milken Institute aims to address the 12-year, $1.4 billion baseline cost of developing new therapies to foster a "fairer future" by connecting resources and innovation to ensure successful ideas.
- By 2050, the global population aged 60 and older is projected to more than double from 1 billion (2019) to 2.1 billion, with annual cancer cases predicted to reach 33 million (a 66% increase from 2022 levels) and the population exposed to Zika virus transmission expected to grow by over 1.3 billion people.
- The Institute plans to release additional publications before the end of the year following the summit, which features over 200 speakers across 50 sessions over two days covering biomedical innovation, public health, food, healthy aging, and strategic philanthropy.
- Participants are expected to leave the summit with implemented solutions and new partnerships to support the shift from treatment to prevention, a strategy supported by both doctors and patients.
- Public sentiment indicates 70% of Americans believe the healthcare system is not meeting their needs, while 57% worry systemic change will not occur for many years, leading 44% to delay care due to cost and two-thirds to fear the impact of costs on retirement well-being.
- Financial vulnerability is highlighted by data showing 51% of Americans cannot pay off an unexpected healthcare cost out-of-pocket, and 55% of BIPOC Americans report receiving poor quality care in the last year, an 11-point increase from 2022.
- Disparities and misperceptions are prevalent, with women taking 3.9 years to receive a chronic illness diagnosis compared to 2.4 years for men, while 81% incorrectly assume digital health data is fully protected under HIPAA and 71% falsely believe the US has the lowest infant mortality rates.
- Generational perspectives vary, with 73% of Boomers viewing 70 as the new 50, 56% of Millennials trying or willing to try GLP-1 drugs for reinvention, and 55% of Gen Z wishing social media had never been invented alongside 51% dreaming about climate change.
- Support for expanding provider roles is strong, with 92% of Americans agreeing Physician Assistants (PAs) should provide care to the fullest extent of their education and 91% believing fully utilizing PAs improves patient health.