The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world — and that spending is going up every year. In some respects, that’s good news, because it means that new treatments, medications, and tests are available, and people are living longer. But it also means that health care and insurance is getting more expensive. There’s always pressure to control or reduce costs and to find inefficiencies, which impacts patient care in so many ways. On this episode, we explore the complicated relationship between medicine and money. We hear about how financial pressures led to the closure of Philadelphia maternity wards — and the surprising results; the lengths one Canadian man goes to to get his life-saving meds; and the complicated financial realities of running a hospital.

Also heard on this week’s episode: