7.1 Retaining the Region's Competitive Edge in Health

 Boston’s world-class health infrastructure attracts global talent and contributes significantly to the region’s economy.  The sector consists of three inter-related components:  the health care delivery system; the public health infrastructure; and the broader life sciences industry.  Key infrastructure includes 14 teaching hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital, Boston, as well as medical schools and public health departments at Harvard, Tufts and Boston Universities.  According to the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, these teaching hospitals and affiliated medical schools generate $24.3 billion in economic activity and employ more than 70,000 people.  Health care delivery infrastructure also includes an extensive network of community hospitals, community health centers, health maintenance organizations and clinics.  Finally, Boston’s world-class teaching hospitals and research facilities attract researchers and funding that have spawned new sectors of the regional economy, such as the life sciences and biotechnology sectors.  The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s leading industries report categorizes the combined health care and life sciences industry as one of the metropolitan area’s five leading industries; one in six jobs in Boston is related to the health sector.  According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the fields of scientific research and health care has increased every year from 2003-2008 in the Boston metro region.  The region’s combination of world-class teaching hospitals and community health centers, combined with the early success of the 2006 state health reform law, has made Boston ground zero for health reform.  However, Greater Boston’s exemplary health care system is increasingly stretched and vulnerable.  Health care delivery costs are growing at an unsustainable rate.  Public health infrastructure is weakened by state cuts in even proven public health programs and by a shortage of primary care physicians and nurses.  And racial/ethnic disparities in key health measures persist.