The US healthcare system has alarmed American physicians, who blame large corporations for prioritising profits over patient care. Widespread frustration among patients and medical professionals has been fuelled by reports of potentially fatal delays in approving critical healthcare procedures. Opponents argue these delays are a deliberate strategy to boost company profits rather than mere inefficiencies.
Americans continue to have some of the worst health results in the industrialized world, even though they spend more on healthcare than any other developed country—roughly $4.9 trillion in 2023. According to doctors, these shortcomings are caused by the disjointed, profit-driven system, which forces patients to deal with convoluted red tape as they wait for life-saving treatment.
Doctors Highlight Deadly Delays in Patient Care
Medical professionals have described a system that repeatedly obstructs timely care through delayed approvals and denials for essential treatments. Dr Cheryl Kunis, a nephrologist in New York City, recalled the case of a patient whose PET scan, crucial for assessing the spread of a tumour, was delayed by six months due to administrative hurdles. By the time the approval came through, the patient had passed away. “We assume that if he had been diagnosed earlier, he may have been able to do better,” she said.
This scenario is emblematic of a broader issue. Insurance firms often require “peer-to-peer” reviews, where physicians must justify their decisions to insurance representatives who frequently lack expertise in the relevant medical field. Dr Philip Verhoef, an intensive care physician in Hawaii, dismissed these reviews as a “farce,” adding that such practices routinely undermine clinical judgment. Verhoef cited cases where patients arrived in critical condition after being denied coverage for life-saving medications, such as insulin or asthma inhalers.
These delays are seen as intrinsic to the insurance industry’s profit-driven model. Dr Ed Weisbart, a former chief medical officer, argued that these practices are not accidents but deliberate strategies to cut costs. “When they delay your care by a day, by a week, by a month or totally deny it, it’s not a random event. It’s a calculated business strategy to maximize their profits.”
Healthcare : Calls Grow for a Systemic Overhaul
With many experts supporting a single-payer approach, the ongoing discussion has prompted calls for a reform of the US healthcare system. Other affluent countries use similar systems to provide universal healthcare coverage, improved health outcomes, and reduced costs. According to a 2020 projection, switching to a single-payer system may lower national healthcare costs while saving tens of thousands of lives each year.
Proponents like Verhoef and Weisbart believe the solution lies in replacing private insurance with a public system modelled on Medicare. There is “no way to modestly reform a fundamental flaw in a business model,” Weisbart asserted. Instead, they propose building a universal system that prioritises patient care over corporate profit.
With the healthcare industry reporting record profits even as patients and physicians struggle, the system’s critics argue that meaningful reform is essential to ensure affordable, equitable, and timely medical care for all Americans.
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