I see patients who need prescriptions but can't find them and patients who need mental health care but can't get appointments. The healthcare system is collapsing all around us.
. What do we get for that staggering sum? Statistics compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. On critical rankings such as life expectancy at birth and deaths from avoidable conditions the U.S ranked near the bottom.
Why has the U.S., the world leader in drug and healthcare technology, fallen so far behind? The answer is that the system stopped serving the public long ago. It serves the needs of those profiting from healthcare. Powerful lobbies representing insurance companies, drug companies, doctor groups and others block meaningful reforms.
The insurance industry poses the greatest obstacle. Its administrative overhead cost is around 17% of revenue, compared with Medicare,on administration. If a federal single-payer system — like “Medicare for all” — saved even 10% of what insurers are wasting on administration, the extra billions could revolutionize care. That sum could expand mental health care, subsidize drug access and stabilize hospital funding.
As we pay more and more for substandard care, increased attention inevitably will be drawn to the system’s conspicuous weaknesses, especially administrative waste. Overcoming the special interests and solving the problems will prove no small task. The inertia of our political system required the Depression to enact Social Security. Improving insurance access through the Affordable Care Act required an influx of legislative reformers inspired by the financial crisis of 2008.
I’m not sure what national calamity will be required to overcome the status quo this time, but American healthcare’s failures certainly are mounting. When inevitable major reform finally occurs, those like me who make our living in healthcare deserve input. But the patients who pay the bills and live and die in our system deserve changes that would prioritize compassion over profit.
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