Last year, my uncle had to be air-lifted to the regional hospital after an accident nearly cost him his life. The news spread through the family quickly, and, after hearing that he was alright, everyone had the same question: how is he going to afford this?

In the United States, the world’s most economically dominant nation, these tragic situations occur far too often. In some extreme cases, insurance companies may refuse to fund life-saving treatment to increase their profit margin. It is absolutely disgraceful that the current healthcare system effectively puts a price on saving a human life.

My uncle is far from alone in this struggle of health-related debts. Around 40 percent of Americans owe debt from receiving the medical care they desperately needed. This debt can be so crippling that Americans flock by the thousands, sometimes illegally, to Mexico and Canada for cheaper operations and prescription medicine. Prescription drugs sold in Mexico cost about 50 percent less, on average, than the exact same drugs sold in America.

Given how expensive healthcare is in the United States, one might assume that it ranks among the best in the world. Surprisingly, given the advanced medical facilities across the country, a report from the World Health Organization ranks the United States healthcare system the 37th best in the world. For comparison, Slovenia ranks 38th while Costa Rica sits in 36th.

The reason behind the high cost and low quality is simple: greed. In a testimony before Congress, Dr. Linda Peeno stated that she “denied a man the necessary operation that would have saved his life, as thus caused his death.” Instead of being punished, the insurance corporation, Humana, promoted her to a six-figure salary because the denial of medical care was seen as “a savings to the company”.

The motive for health insurance companies and hospitals should be to provide the best healthcare to anyone who is in need. Instead, regardless of the devastating effects it has on the lives of those who need healthcare most, examples of corporate greed plague the current system. According to a report from Families USA, around 134,000 died prematurely between 2005 and 2010 “due to a lack of health coverage.” No one should ever have to face death because their health insurance company denies them coverage.

In fairness, the private health system the United States uses has allowed great advancements in science and medicine. The profit motive gives health companies a financial reason to seek cures for diseases and medicine to ease suffering. But that same profit motive also leads companies to put profits ahead of people.

Obamacare attempted to solve some of the fundamental problems that the healthcare system faces, but to no avail. The problems are too deeply rooted for any executive legislation to make an impact.

A single-payer healthcare system is the only way to ensure that everyone gets the basic human right of good health. In other single-payer healthcare systems around the world, patients can go to hospitals regardless of how thick their wallets are and hospitals can provide care without worrying about the patient’s ability to pay. With this kind of health system, the underlying motive changes from profit driven competition to a purely helpful environment. The current healthcare system in America has incentives for insurance workers that deny coverage.

These hidden motives ultimately prove the success or failure of a healthcare system. We must stop seeing health as a privilege for the rich, but as a fundamental right for all.

(1) comment

TomMartin

This is just a perspective. There are many patients who are happy with their medical services. It is important to know how to select these medical services. There are many professional services like the hearing care services charlotte, but people should know about them. Some patients recommend them to their family and friends and in this way more and more people have access to better medical services.

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