As health care costs skyrocket, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to offer comprehensive health benefits, and the burden of health care financing is gradually shifting to the consumer. According to experts at Booz Allen Hamilton, consumers will need to meet this challenge by planning for their health care costs as they do for their other financial expenditures, by tapping into products aligned with the financial services life planning cycle. strategy+business and Knowledge@Wharton recently spoke with Joni Bessler, vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, and Kent Smetters, professor of insurance and risk management at Wharton, about what this "health-wealth" convergence could look like. In this first part of a three-part interview, Bessler and Smetters discuss whether a health-wealth convergence is inevitable, and how financial planning tools such as health savings and health retirement accounts will figure into the future of health care.

Health-Wealth Convergence

strategy+business Media, a unit of the global strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, publishes a quarterly magazine, Web site (www.strategy-business.com), books, and, in conjunction with Knowledge@Wharton, this series of podcasts. The s+b/K@W podcasts draw on the insights of experts at Booz Allen and the Wharton School to bridge the gap between theory and practice in contemporary global business.

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Despite the ongoing global recession, the Middle East "is still one of the better places to be," according to Joe Saddi, chairman of Booz & Company and managing director of the firm's Middle East business. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton conducted during the recent Wharton Global Alumni Forum in Dubai, Saddi noted that although sectors such as real estate and tourism have been hit hard, the region's underlying growth fundamentals remain positive. And although Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) companies will need to be prudent and maintain enough cash to weather the current storm, now is the perfect time for them to "go on the offensive" and "take advantage of the recession to acquire or stake out a stronger strategic position."

Business in the Middle East

Money isn't the key to successful innovation. In fact, many companies spend far less than their competitors on R&D to achieve far better performance. To learn why that's the case, strategy+business and Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Kevin Dehoff, a partner at Booz & Company, and Karl Ulrich, Wharton professor of operations and information management. In this final part of a three-part series, Dehoff and Ulrich talk about innovation in the auto industry -- what constitutes it, why some manufacturers, like Toyota, are more innovative than others, and the role that customers play in innovative product development.

High-Leverage Innovation, Part Three

Money isn't the key to successful innovation. In fact, many companies spend far less than their competitors on R&D to achieve far better performance. To learn why that's the case, strategy+business and Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Kevin Dehoff, a partner at Booz & Company, and Karl Ulrich, Wharton professor of operations and information management. In this second part of a three-part series, Dehoff and Ulrich discuss the competitive advantages of global innovation networks, the challenges companies face in cross-border R&D collaboration, and how models of collaboration will likely evolve.

High-Leverage Innovation, Part Two

Money isn't the key to successful innovation. In fact, many companies spend far less than their competitors on R&D to achieve far better performance. To learn why that's the case, strategy+business and Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Kevin Dehoff, a partner at Booz & Company, and Karl Ulrich, Wharton professor of operations and information management. In this first part of a three-part series, Dehoff and Ulrich discuss the relationship between spending on innovation and corporate performance, how projects are valued in a portfolio, and the importance of screening opportunities.

High-Leverage Innovation, Part One

As health-care costs skyrocket, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to offer comprehensive health benefits, and the burden of health-care financing is gradually shifting to the consumer. According to experts at Booz Allen Hamilton, consumers will need to meet this challenge by planning for their health-care costs as they do for their other financial expenditures, by tapping into products aligned with the financial-services life-planning cycle. strategy+business and Knowledge@Wharton recently spoke with Joni Bessler, vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, and Kent Smetters, professor of insurance and risk management at Wharton, about what this "health-wealth" convergence could look like. In this final segment of a three-part interview, Bessler and Smetters describe what some health-wealth products might look like, the regulatory changes that would be required to create these products, and the pros and cons for consumers and players.

Health-Wealth Convergence

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