David Cutler

David Cutler is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, Dean of Social Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and arguably the most influential health economist in America. He served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council under President Clinton, advised the presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Barack Obama, and served as the senior health care advisor to the Obama campaign — making him one of the principal architects of what became the Affordable Care Act. He speaks on healthcare economics, healthcare reform, the business opportunities and challenges within a changing healthcare system, and the economics of medical innovation.

Your Money or Your Life
Cutler’s book Your Money or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America’s Health Care System was the subject of a major New York Times Magazine feature and established him as the leading national voice on value-based healthcare reform. His central argument — that the healthcare system should be refocused on value creation rather than volume — has shaped policy debates and corporate strategy across the industry for more than two decades.

Practical Insights for Business Leaders
Cutler’s keynotes translate complex health policy into actionable insights for business leaders navigating the shifting landscape of healthcare costs, coverage, and reform. He has been named one of the 30 people who could have a powerful impact on healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine.

David Cutler delivers keynotes on healthcare economics, healthcare reform, the business implications of changing health policy, and the value-driven future of American medicine.

What Health Care Reform Means for Businesses

Many businesses are wary of health care reform.  Yet health care reform presents opportunities as well as challenges.  Dr. David Cutler analyzes the opportunities and challenges that health reform will bring to business.  He highlights areas of underexploited value in health care, including chronic care management, administrative simplification, and care coordination.  Dr. Cutler shows the public and private sector opportunities associated with each of these areas and how smart businesses can exploit them.  He also highlights how the political process approaches reform, and the implications of current public policies for business.

The Value Proposition in Health Care – Can we Innovate our Way out of the Healthcare Crisis?

Building on his phenomenal academic career and extensive experience in health care policy, Dr. David Cutler presents a feasible, sustainable plan for health care reform in the United States.  Dr. Cutler focuses on value creation: taking a health care system that is haphazard in quality and too costly and focusing it on the core mission of value enhancement.  Dr. Cutler shows how this can be achieved through several key changes: improving the information flow in health care; aligning compensation systems so they reward better care, not just more care; and stressing organizational structures that lead to improved performance.  An architect of the Obama plan for health care, Dr. Cutler shows how public and private policies can further the value proposition in health care.