• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
HealthBrainstorm Health

Health Care and the War on the Middle Class

By
Clifton Leaf
Clifton Leaf
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Clifton Leaf
Clifton Leaf
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 20, 2018, 2:32 PM ET
Healthcare middle class
Michael Melford— Getty ImagesMichael Melford—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

I’d like to highlight what I think is one of the most important editorial packages Fortune has done in some time—our January 19 cover stories on America’s shrinking middle class. We’re giving online readers a preview today, and releasing other pieces over the next several days. Please take a moment, if you would, and read the introduction and Part One of the package here.

As I write in my Editor’s Letter for the January issue (which you can read here), this was an extraordinary effort that fused together the talents, insights, and passions of 51 writers, editors, designers, photographers, illustrators, graphic and video artists, and more—all of them guided by Fortune Digital Editor extraordinaire, Andrew Nusca.

The message of this package is a simple one at heart: Even as the economy has expanded and median income has risen, a surprisingly large swath of Americans have felt like they’re falling further behind. I’ll let the smart and thorough reporting of the cover package reveal the details, but the conclusion shouldn’t be glossed over by either business leaders or policy makers. It will be very hard to sustain robust long-term growth—and a truly higher standard of living for the vast majority of Americans—unless and until we deal with some of the key structural issues that are straining millions of households today.

One of those “structural” issues noted above is the profound burden of health care costs in this country—an ever-growing investment that, quite frankly, is not paying off as well as it should.

We’ve been thinking about that A LOT lately as we put together the agenda for our fourth annual Brainstorm Health conference on April 2-3, 2019. The question, as my co-chairs Arianna Huffington and Dr. David Agus have been framing it—and trust me, you could not ask for two more brilliant, generous, and indefatigable partners to build anything—is: “What is health’s bottom line—and how do we improve it?”

Arianna, the CEO of Thrive Global and legendary founder of the Huffington Post, whom I regard as the Divine Disrupter—part holy woman and part technology guru—has been leading us to think about the “upstream” forces that are shaping our health needs and consumption. Dave Agus is, as Brainstorm readers know well, a top-of-the-heap cancer doc, multi-titled professor at USC and founding director of the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine—and when he’s not writing New York Times bestsellers (three of them), is a health correspondent for CBS. Still, the dude has found time to guide us to the coolest technologists, entrepreneurs, shaker-uppers, and more across the medical landscape.

Our 2019 conference, I have to say, is going to be our best yet. Here is just a smattering of confirmed speakers, in alphabetical order: Albert Bourla, Incoming CEO of Pfizer; Bruce Broussard, CEO of Humana; Dr. Toby Cosgrove, Executive Advisor at Google Cloud Healthcare and Life Sciences; psychologist and author Dr. Lisa Damour; Amy DuRoss, CEO of Vineti; Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS; Mindy Grossman, CEO of WW; Dave Hodgson, CEO of Project Ronin; Mei Mei Hu, CEO of United Neuroscience; Dr. Jaewon Ryu, Interim CEO of Geisinger; Camille Samuels, Partner at Venrock; Shyam Sankar, Director at Palantir Technologies; Scott Serota, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association; Marvelle Sullivan Berchtold, Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase; Dr. Eric Topol, Director & Founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute; and Bernard Tyson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente.

We’ve also got a brand new academic partner this year: Stanford Medicine, led by its trailblazing dean, Dr. Lloyd Minor. (And, as anyone who has been to a previous Fortune Brainstorm Health can tell you, we’ve got a bunch of exciting surprises in store, too. Check out our previous conference highlights to get a hint.)

The gathering, out of necessity, is invitation-only. (I’m sorry—I wish we could open the doors to everyone—though we will put as much of it as we can online.) That said, if you want to apply for an invite, please feel free to do so here. (There’s a registration form you’ll have to fill out—and, yes, a fee.) We’ll be at the glorious Grand Del Mar in San Diego.

Or drop me a line and let me know.

Subscribe to Brainstorm Health Daily, our newsletter about the most exciting health innovations.

About the Author
By Clifton Leaf
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Health

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Health

The 6 Best Exercise Bikes of 2026: Fitness Expert Reviewed
HealthDietary Supplements
The 6 Best Exercise Bikes of 2026: Fitness Expert Reviewed
By Christina SnyderJuly 1, 2026
18 hours ago
kean
PoliticsCongress
Tom Kean discloses depression diagnosis behind 4-month absence from Congress: ‘until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand’
By Mike Catalini, Joey Cappelletti and The Associated PressJune 30, 2026
2 days ago
‘Cop on your wrist’: Wearables offer tons of data, but people are still going to sleep to Netflix and TikTok
HealthBrainstorm Tech
‘Cop on your wrist’: Wearables offer tons of data, but people are still going to sleep to Netflix and TikTok
By Amanda GerutJune 29, 2026
3 days ago
usa
EnvironmentHeat
Long and dangerous heat wave to roast America from Dallas to New York through July 4th holiday
By Marc Levy and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
3 days ago
France suffers 1,000 additional deaths in just the past week amid record heat wave—and 85% involved people aged 65 and above
EuropeWeather and forecasting
France suffers 1,000 additional deaths in just the past week amid record heat wave—and 85% involved people aged 65 and above
By Kirsten Grieshaber, John Leicester and The Associated PressJune 28, 2026
4 days ago
Peter Rahal speaks on stage in front of a black and purple background.
RetailFood and drink
David Protein CEO says ‘diet trends are over’ because of GLP-1s: ‘What’s next is really hard to predict’
By Sasha RogelbergJune 28, 2026
4 days ago

Most Popular

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
7 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
5 days ago
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
Newsletters
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
By Diane BradyJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
Politics
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 1, 2026
22 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.