Patients Versus Profits

Two motives drive much of American health care. The first is the motive to heal the sick—the patient motive. The second is the motive to generate financial gains—the profit motive. This Article asks the following question: where do these two motives intersect and diverge?

Using three emerging technologies as examples, this Article provides a framework for answering this question. It then uses this framework’s insights to explain when and how legal and extra-legal institutions can be used to improve care, either by constraining the profit motive or aligning it more closely with the goals of patient care. This Article concludes with some thoughts about the prospect of using market mechanisms to improve patient health.