Alex Gorsky on healthcare costs
From The Industrialist's Dilemma Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson · · Robert E. Siegel
“The challenge is how are we going to pay for it? And particularly at a time when frankly demographics are exploding, especially the the population age 65 and older. That number is going to go to 70 million over the next 30 years. When you turn 65, that's when you consume all your healthcare. In fact, about five to seven times the amount.”
On , Alex Gorsky, Former Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Johnson & Johnson, spoke about healthcare costs during The Industrialist's Dilemma Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson on Robert E. Siegel.
About Alex Gorsky
Alex Gorsky, former Executive Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, participated in a keynote discussion at the LSI USA '24 Emerging Medtech Summit in May 2024. During the conversation, he argued that the traditional model of pricing medical devices with a small performance difference at a significantly higher cost "is not going to work." He stated that healthcare spending will increase over the next decade due to demographic shifts, and he described this as "not a bad thing" for a developed society. Gorsky also warned that if the industry does not focus on ensuring broad access to technology, "countervailing political forces" could change the healthcare ecosystem. He noted that large-scale M&A is "quite challenged" and expressed concern about that trend. Gorsky predicted that enabling technologies like cloud, connectivity, and AI will become the focus of medtech within ten years, and he advised entrepreneurs and investors to "think differently" about enabling the next generation of healthcare. Earlier, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Gorsky discussed Johnson & Johnson's development of a vaccine on a not-for-profit basis, stating that the company aimed to provide broad access. He emphasized the importance of relying on "data, science, and well-established regulatory guidelines" during a politicized time. In a 2018 interview, Gorsky described leading Johnson & Johnson with a "start-up mode" mindset, stressing the need for constant reinvention. He also discussed the importance of the company's Credo, a set of principles he said serves as a "moral compass," and noted that all employees had participated in "Credo challenge" sessions to discuss its relevance. In a 2013 interview, Gorsky identified significant organizational and people changes as among the most challenging decisions he faced, and he said he evaluates leaders based on their performance, their track record in developing future leaders, and how they develop talent with the Credo in mind.