Improving U.S. Social Progress Through Low Cost Healthcare Initiatives

Improving U.S. Social Progress Through Low Cost Healthcare Initiatives

            The United States’ rank on the Social Progress Index (a measure of the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens)[1] is declining. In 2013 The U.S. was ranked 6^th. It ranked 16^th in 2014[2] and 2015[3], and 19^th in 2016[4] respectively.  Typically, one of the lowest parts of The US Social Progress Index score is the Foundations of Wellbeing portion (specifically the Health and Wellness portion of this). Likely, the low Foundations of Wellbeing score for The US occurs because of the highly skewed ratio of healthcare costs to returns on investment ratio, with costs being extremely high, and returns on investments being relatively low (in comparison to numerous countries in both developing and emerging markets).  If social innovators in The United States created low cost alternatives to the expensive health service options currently on the market, larger numbers of U.S. consumers could have access to affordable health services without racking up high medical bills and incurring large amounts of debt. This shift to low cost alternatives would begin to balance the ratio of healthcare costs to returns on healthcare spending to the benefit of The United States Social Progress Index rating, but more importantly, to the benefit of American consumers.

            One area for growth in low cost alternatives to current health service options is 3D printing for prosthetics.  3D printing of prosthetics has two major benefits.  First, 3D printing allows for rapid prototyping and the user to test the prosthetic for a comfortable fit more quickly and conveniently than the traditional prosthetic fitting route. Traditional prosthetics take months of custom fittings in order to ensure a proper fit, but switching the process to a 3D printed alternative would allow the patient to print limbs locally or even at home.[5] 3D printing prosthetics can save patients a lot of money. Prosthetic limbs generally last about five years and can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 each. [6] Over a lifetime, prosthetics could easily cost a patient hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some 3D printers are available for as little as $200[7] and could print a prosthetic limb at the fraction of the traditional cost. By shifting to 3D printed prosthetics Americans could have an innovative, cost effective solution to a previously prohibitively expensive health care issue.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Social_Progress_Index

[2] http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cr/Documents/public-sector/2014-Social-Progress-IndexRepIMP.pdf; p.17

[3] https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-Deloitte/gx-cr-social-progress-index-executive-summary-2015.pdf; p.9

[4] http://13i8vn49fibl3go3i12f59gh.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/SPI-2016-Main-Report.pdf; p.19

[5] https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/26/the-future-of-3d-printed-prosthetics/

[6] https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/26/the-future-of-3d-printed-prosthetics/

[7] https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/26/the-future-of-3d-printed-prosthetics/