The financialization of health refers to the growing influence of financial actors in shaping health care delivery and population health. Hedge funds, private equity firms, venture capital firms, and other financial entities are rapidly acquiring, trading, and investing in health care organizations, reshaping the incentives and priorities of the system. At the same time, financial markets are deeply intertwined with other key industries—including housing, education, and agriculture—that shape the social determinants of health, further entrenching financialization into everyday life. This talk will explore the expanding role of financial actors in the U.S. health system, tracing how we arrived at this moment and considering what the future may hold. It will examine the historical forces and policy shifts that facilitated financialization, the mechanisms through which financial firms exert influence, and the consequences for patients, providers, and the public health community. In doing so, the talk will consider whether financialization is an inevitable feature of modern health system—or whether alternative models and policy interventions might disrupt its trajectory.
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