Over the past several months I have seen three different Go Fund Me pages started for people I know who have a loved ones battling cancer. Everyone of these families has health insurance and yet they still struggle with keeping their houses and way of life together as our US Healthcare systems drains their finances. Last month, I was watching an American author who moved to England with his family, his wife was from England. One of his children was diagnosed with leukemia and he was asked what he thought of the European Healthcare system. He stated, I cannot thank this healthcare system enough, I didn’t have to deal with any hospital administration, no insurance delays, and his total cost, zero! He got to spend all the time he had with his child during his treatment, that is priceless! How can a country, like the United States, that loves to brag about being the greatest country in the world be so bad about handling healthcare for its citizens.
The United States does not have a uniform health system and has no universal healthcare coverage. The health disadvantage of the U.S. relative to other high-income countries is health disparities in health services.
Although the U.S. is renowned for its leadership in biomedical research and cutting-edge medical technology, its medical system faces significant issues such as preventable medical errors, poor amenable mortality rates, and lack of transparency in treatment.
Due to the shortage of nurses, physicians, and specialists in hospitals and health centers, among other rising challenges in public health care, Americans are unable to get the optimal quality of medical care they require.
The U.S. stands out from many countries in not offering universal health insurance coverage. Fifty million people, 16% of the U.S. population, lack insurance coverage. Medical expenditures such as pharmaceuticals and medical supplies have increasingly become unaffordable for marginalized communities. Therefore, paying medical bills and other medical costs have become high out-of-pocket expenses.
U.S. healthcare underperforms in almost every category. I attached a few charts to show you the shortcomings. High cost is the primary reason that prevents Americans from accessing health care services. Americans with below-average incomes are much more affected, since visiting a physician when sick, getting a recommended test, or follow-up care has become unaffordable. These patients have acknowledged the difficulty in paying medical bills and other expenditures.
U.S. per capita healthcare compared to other wealthy nations
U.S. administrative costs compared to other wealthy countries
Health outcomes compared with developed countries
Another issue that is solely American, bankruptcy due to medical bills. This just doesn’t happen in other countries. Medical bills are the most common reason for bankruptcies in the U.S.
Let me give a few statistics on this:
17% of adults with health care debt had to declare bankruptcy or lose their home because of it.
Almost 20% of medical bankruptcy filers report prescription drugs as their largest expense.
Medical expenses directly cause 66.5% of bankruptcies, making it the leading cause for bankruptcy. Additionally, medical problems that lead to work loss cause 44% of bankruptcies.
This last really hits home for me, one in five families who file for medical bankruptcy are military families.
Now, while this above is going on, this is also happening,
This is a list of the top 6 CEO salaries in the health insurance world.
- Joseph Zubretsky, Molina Healthcare
2022 pay: $22,131,256
2021 pay: $19,961,698
Percentage increase: 10.87
- Karen Lynch, CVS Health
2022 pay: $21,317,055
2021 pay: $20,388,412
Percentage increase: 4.55
- David Cordani, Cigna
2022 pay: $20,965,504
2021 pay: $19,872,266
Percentage increase: 5.50
- Gail Boudreaux, Elevance Health
2022 pay: $20,931,081
2021 pay: $19,348,241
Percentage increase: 8.18
- Andrew Witty, UnitedHealth Group
2022 pay: $20,865,106
2021 pay: $18,433,143
Percentage increase: 13.19
- Bruce Broussard, Humana
2022 pay: $17,198,844
2021 pay:$16,525,036
Percentage increase: 4.08
One hundred and twenty-three million in total! Over in the Pharma world, more executives making millions of dollars. All the while Americans are establishing Go Fund Me pages to try to get by every day. This is despicable!
One of the things I have discovered about our country is that if a problem doesn’t directly affect you, then it’s not a problem. I had the pleasure of interviewing some Europeans, Canadians, and Australians about their healthcare systems. I was very impressed with their knowledge of their systems and how well it worked. It has its glitches, no question, but two things stuck out to me during the interview process. One, not one person wanted to switch to the way America provides healthcare. Two, I ask them, ‘if the minded paying higher taxes to help the less fortunate who couldn’t afford to pay for their universal healthcare, they all responded with the same sentiment, we are all in this together, if I can help another human to provide them with medical care, I’m onboard with it. The United States is long past its time for a universal healthcare system. I honestly don’t care the what the cost would be to the taxpayer, I’ll make a small wager though that the tax increase will be less than the money you would save on your healthcare premiums. I for one am a lucky guy, my wife and I fall under Tricare because of my military service and my cost is only around $500 for the year, and it’s really good coverage, but not everyone is that lucky. If my wife didn’t fall under Tricare and she would have to buy it from the teacher’s union, PSEA, her cost would have taken half of her pension on a monthly basis. I included the chart below.
Who in their right mind thinks retirees should be paying these types of cost for their healthcare at a time when they will probably need it more than ever? Mind boggling! The time is now for universal healthcare, our country spends nine hundred billion on the defense budget every year and doesn’t blink an eye. It’s time for Americans to demand a better healthcare system. Last week, congress closed out its session with a hearing on UFOs, named the blueberry a national fruit and showed nude pictures of Hunter Biden, really folks, start demanding more from your congressman, don’t care if you are a R or D, healthcare is the place to start!