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Boston, MA - Financial pollution arises when exorbitant or unnecessary healthcare spending depletes resources needed for the wellbeing of the population. This is the subject of a
JAMA Health Forum Insight co-authored by researchers in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School. The Insight was published in the March 8, 2021 issue of
JAMA Health Forum.
The authors lay out the rationale for financial pollution as a metaphor to express the urgency of addressing wasteful health care spending and to guide innovative policymaking. Akin to environmental pollution, financial pollution is human-made, contaminates connected systems, remains largely invisible to many, and disproportionately harms vulnerable populations. The authors highlight approaches that have improved environmental pollution as avenues for reducing financial pollution.