The US is losing 10% of GDP due to disease right now---pharma innovation is key to solve.

GS economists write in a new report that these breakthroughs “imply a remarkable pace of healthcare innovation that could significantly improve health outcomes and enable people to live better and longer lives. While the primary goal of healthcare innovation remains raising care quality, these efforts could generate positive spillovers to the macroeconomy as well.” Love the sound of that. So what might the macroeconomic effects be? For starters, a key piece of context needs to be understood: Health has big economic implications. As the GS economics team explains, poor health imposes economic costs through multiple channels: First, it lowers labor force participation by two to three percentage points, as people in poor health are less likely to work. Second, health issues increase absenteeism and reduce hours worked by around two percent a year. Third, early death from disease subtracts 0.2 percentage points per year from potential labor force growth. Finally, caregiving responsibilities for sick relatives reduces total labor supply by three percent. GS puts it all together: Combining current losses in hours worked and labor force participation from sickness and disability, early deaths, and informal caregiving, we estimate that GDP would potentially be over 10% higher if poor health outcomes did not limit labor supply in the US. These estimates suggest significant upside to economic output if the recent wave of healthcare innovation leads to an improvement in health outcomes that reduces the economic burden of poor health.