Do you work in healthcare? If not, how do you know that no one in the industry is interested in reducing costs? Facebook received a lot more than $400m in funding before going public. Facebook had multiple funding rounds in the $100's of millions and received funding of $1.5B alone in 2010. It is fairly common now for start-ups to postpone going public in favor of larger late stage rounds of funding.
My wife works for a hospital group and they are specifically looking to reduce lab costs. Hospital groups are going in together on joint lab operations, and constantly looking for new ways to reduce test costs.
a) because it would mean less money in their pockets. But I thought that was clear. b) ...you are right, the 1.5b tranche Facebook received trumps that. My wrong. Nonetheless a single tranche in the amount of 400mln seems very large by any standard.
they might be wanting to reduce lab costs to lower their own cost base. But certainly do most hospitals have little to no interest to pass any of those cost savings on. There are way too many middle men involved and pharmaceutical corps, hospitals, doctors, insurers, and other service providers in this trade are charging exorbitant rates. Bottom line remains that American health care costs are entirely blown out of proportion, certainly by any international standard while I do not perceive the American healthcare system to be any better than the one in Japan or Germany, for example.
reason for the healthcare system being blown out of proportion is our legal system that has turned this nation the most litigious in history. People and corporations sue for sport in this country...
Industries such as healtcare, education and defense having the government as a fractional payer seem to have no incentive to reduce cost. True as well for other countries as well. I can only assume we have far superior lobyiists and as usual another example of American exceptionalism.
EXACTLY! I'm not old (yet), just skinny, and already the twice a year samples hurt like wasp stings (having had those, too) though luckily not for as long. As someone who also checks his blood glucose a couple times a day, I would be thrilled to have other measurements become even half as accessible and painless as glucose. (i.e. sample at home, then drop at the pharmacy or courrier to the lab.) Cost reduction would just be icing on the cake (and wouldn't affect me personally, as I'm in Canada). Whether her company or another eventually achieves this, I don't really care, but it would be a game changer in the frequency with which some people engage in preventative sampling.
I have been following and reading about her and her company now for about a year or so, its finally making its rounds where most people are noticing the company and her... I read the same thing you did and thought for as smart as she is, running a "billion" dollar company how could she come up with an answer like that, its seems very very questionable whats going on with that company and the value they have placed on it, we are in a the biggest bubble this world has ever seen, but of course no one is going to believe it or witness it until well after the fact it bursts like it has so previous times.....This company being valued as much as it is being valued at with not much do go on is extremely questionable, take a look at the people she hired for her board members, if that doesn't raise questions I don't know what does....