We need to implement solutions now to avert a healthcare crisis

Dr. Pearl’s recent post predicting a “massive healthcare crisis” is right on point. He offers compelling evidence of the crisis’s likelihood and wisely acknowledges that no one knows how our society will ultimately respond. He outlines three plausible scenarios:

• Private equity–driven cost cutting

• Generative AI transformation

• Crisis-induced disruption

These are all credible possibilities. I would add two important considerations:

• The longer we delay implementing meaningful solutions, the more drastic and painful those solutions will become. We need urgent, realistic action. Slashing Medicaid coverage does not address the root problem. Instead, we must reform how we pay providers.

• Our current coding-based payment model undermines the value of cognitive services—primary care, mental health, palliative care, and gerontology. This system not only weakens these essential services but also wastes money. We should be allocating 15–20% of healthcare dollars to these core areas, not less than 5%.

Viable solutions exist - we just need the courage to implement them. For more information on these ideas, visit www.the journeys-end.org.