The Downfalls of Profit-Driven Health Care
The cruelty of a model that favors profits over patients
The business of health care
Health care is a terrifying topic to this gray divorcee, breast cancer survivor. And I realize I am lucky–I have decent health care insurance combined with Medicaid. Without that coverage, I am confident the level of health I received would not have been as high. And the likelihood of adding bankruptcy to my list of things I never want probably would have happened as well.
Too many others face financial ruin with a serious diagnosis. Just what they need-more stress. A family member is being treated for lung cancer and his poor body is taking a beating from the chemo. They had to stop his last treatment within minutes of starting because he couldn’t breathe.
And this was after he was life flighted a few weeks earlier to deal with an acute life-threatening emergency due to the tumor location. He’s been through so much already.
It is hard to watch and feel the helplessness and grief. Especially since I know first-hand the terror of cancer.
I swing from that to downright rage when I see firsthand what happens when rapacious corporations take over health care.
Like the delay in starting radiation because insurance needed preapproval with my family member. This was especially infuriating because the doctor told him it was critical he started radiation immediately. But, hey! Just have a seat of there, tumor. We’ll get to you when we can.
And then this turn of events with the chemo reaction. They admitted him and have been treating him for the toxic cardiac side effect. They will also need to figure out another chemo drug since the one is a no-go for him.
So again, I have a front-row seat to health care in ‘Murica in 2024.
Cut expenses, increase profits
Sitting in his room, we witnessed a steady parade of aids, techs, and a “food ambassador” who discussed menu choices. There was a young man who was the “electrocardiographer” too. I never heard of that position and asked if he was a nurse. Nope. He learned the skills on the job.
Hey, why have one nurse for 4 patients when you can have one nurse for 10 and then use low wage techs for the hands-on care.
I also noted the lack of respiratory therapists. He was only seen by techs. One gal apologized that she was taking so much time with his breathing treatment because she was still learning.
His nurse was in and out of his room amid all the other traffic but much of the time, I saw nurses at their desks, glued to computers. I suppose they keep an eye on patients via the updates from the techs in the electronic medical records.
The food menu had me rolling my eyes, especially the words “food ambassador”- a bullshit title for a kitchen worker. (Maybe the title helps them feel better about their minimum wage position.) I noted that the hospital was using a contracted food service. And I hope you’re not hungry after 4:30 because that’s when the kitchen closes. And riiiiiight…chef prepared meals, my eye. You know full good and well, that’s code for Sysco.
In the early afternoon one day, he requested a tray… he hadn’t been able to eat for a good 24 hours. “It’ll take up to two hours to get one,” the nurse told him.
We got take out for him.
Walking through the hospital, are signs warning about the consequences for being abusive to staff. Those weren’t new to me but they still shock me when I see them. It’s yet another sign of the smoldering rage many are living with as they try to survive. (Not to mention how it seems we’ve just grown nastier and feel emboldened to express it.)
I did more eye rolling reading corporate bullshit speak posters sprinkled throughout the hallways. I’m surprised my eyeballs didn’t start spinning on their own.
Back at his room, he shows us another sheet of paper. The visitor that brought this was from billing. “Here’s your portion of the bill so far.” I could see his heart rate and blood pressure rise as he talked about how much all of this was going to cost.
(It also reminded me of the time I was critically ill with appendicitis and before I was whisked away to surgery, billing showed up to collect my co-pay. “Credit or debit?” Fun fact: I was in the hospital for 22 hours and with the 20-minute surgery, the bill was $425,000.)
Hospital care prior to corporate take overs
When I graduated nursing school in 1990, nurses were the primary caregivers on a floor. Patients knew that for the day, there would be mainly one person tending to their needs with watchful eyes. There might be CNAs to help with basic patient care.
You would be seen by your family doctor, no rotating team of locum doctors. My family member never knows who he will talk to next and often has to update the doctor with what the earlier doctor or nurse practitioner said.
In this situation, the patient must make sure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing, and communicates it to the doctor. I literally watched one doctor order a med the day after a previous doctor discontinued the same drug.
Meals were served at regular hours and the kitchen could provide sustenance between those hours. (Like when I had one of my babies after dinner hours… I was starving and was happily able to get a tray in short order.)
Halls were bustling with personal and there was always a ward clerk at the nurse’s station.
You would think all these cost saving measures would make health care more affordable. (Insert maniacal laughter here.)
We spend twice as much for a broken system
Instead, health expenditures per capita in 2022 was $12,555 in the US. That is double what other wealthy countries spend.
And what does this get us, besides shitty hospital care? (Please note, I am in NO WAY criticizing the hard-working staff.)
Well, let’s see. Life expectancy in the US is dropping. There’s even more fun!
This US News report rates the US as 19th on the list of the most developed public health systems, despite the fact that we are spending twice as much as countries with socialized health care.
Who’s benefitting from this fuckery? In the interest of keeping my blood pressure down, I just looked up just one group, United Healthcare Group. Their profits for 2023?
Over $90 BILLION. That’s just the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.
The CEO of United Health Group, Andrew Witty, received over $23 million in compensation in 2022. That was after a 13% increase from 2021. He’s in good company. Take a look at these other health insurance CEOs. They all made over $123 million in 2022.
I’m sure the shareholders are happy with their 7% rate of return.
This is reprehensible.
But this happens when profit takes precedence over patient care.
No one should profit from the suffering of others. The patients pay for every penny of profit made by these corporations. And the employees too, like nurses who are assigned far too many patients.
A cancer patient can be denied treatment because of insurance bullshit. (I’ve heard plenty of stories on this in the breast cancer community as well.)
Speaking of this. I just heard from a friend who tells me her neighbor has a cancer recurrence. He was bumped off Medicaid (something that can happen with the slightest hiccup in their system) and is being denied care necessary without a credit card or cash.
Sick people should not be a stream of cash flow for the wealthy.
I was sad to see that even the nonprofit Mayo showed earnings of nearly $14 billion in 2019. I benefitted from their financial assistance program during cancer treatment and have been singing their praises. (Their level of health care, by the way, was hands down, 1000% better than these recent experiences in corporately own hospitals.)
Mayo’s non-profit status means no property, corporate income tax, or sales tax on supplies. (Sorry/not sorry school districts!)
What are the answers?
As a breast cancer survivor and as one now in her 60s, I am deeply concerned about how this is going to affect us all as we age and develop age-related health issues. Especially for women after a later-in-life divorce.
But I don’t see the needed changes coming anytime soon. Not as long as sick care has a profit motive. There’s too much money to be had. Patients to bilk, items to price gouge. (Remember epi pen crisis?)
Mention expanding Medicare in the wrong company and you could be burned at the stake. But yet countries who have socialized health care spend less money and have longer life expectancies.
And of course, there will always be someone who shares about their negative experience in Canada or elsewhere. These are legitimate issues that need to be improved.
And while the powers that be count their spoils, the suffering continues for those lacking means.
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