The US Ranks Poorly

In a recent study comparing the US to other high-income countries, the US ranked the worst for life expectancy, obesity, chronic disease, and suicide despite spending considerably more per person.

Insurance companies benefit when healthcare costs go up.

That’s because they are only allowed to keep 15-20% of their premiums. We understand why sellers (hospitals) like prices to go up, but in no other industry does the buyer (insurers) prefer prices to go up.

Hospitals are primarily driven by market share and revenue.

Their executives don’t get bonuses for lowering healthcare costs. Don’t think that not-for-profit status means anything about lower costs or better care.

Big pharma is consumed by growth, not health.

They invest in treatment over cures. They are incentivized to deliver high-cost drugs and suppress simple solutions. They’ve trained us to think that the next, new patented drug or shot is the key to health.

Urgent Care and ER facilities are often motivated by quotas

The number of patients they must refer to the hospital or a specialist matters. You may be sent to a cardiologist and panicking over potential heart issues when the facility knows it’s mere indigestion.

What about drug prices?

You typically don’t find out how much the drug your doctor says you must have until you pull up at the pharmacy, wait in a long line, and then get sticker shock. Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico can sell US drugs to their people far cheaper than US citizens can buy them.

Healthcare pricing is so complex and dishonest that patients wait weeks or months to know what something costs.

Try asking a hospital what a surgery costs — they won't or can’t tell you. The same MRI on the other side of the street may cost ⅕ of the price. Imagine booking a hotel without knowing what it will cost. Months later, you get the bill — including a $3,000 surprise charge for something you didn't know you did at the hotel.

What about drug prices?

You typically don’t find out how much the drug your doctor says you must have until you pull up at the pharmacy, wait in a long line, and then get sticker shock. Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico can sell US drugs to their people far cheaper than US citizens can buy them.

What about drug prices?

You typically don’t find out how much the drug your doctor says you must have until you pull up at the pharmacy, wait in a long line, and then get sticker shock. Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico can sell US drugs to their people far cheaper than US citizens can buy them.

Doctors get paid little to educate you on prevention but paid lucratively to give you an injection or perform a procedure.

Say you need surgery. Can you trust a surgeon when the payment model rewards invasiveness? Research the massive overuse and limited benefit of things like hysterectomies, stents, and spine surgeries, just to mention a few.

Doctors aren’t compensated based on health outcomes.

The payment model pushes them to become little more than pill dispensers. They have no time, and often little training on how to treat or prevent disease. So, they keep writing scripts as patients get heavier and unhealthier.

Doctors are not rewarded for quality care.

Did you know that a doctor with 20-years’ experience, who attends to you immediately, diagnoses you correctly, and has a clean office gets the same reimbursement as one with no experience, who leaves you waiting 2+ hours, who misdiagnosis you, in a dirty office? It’s true.

Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in America, following heart disease and cancer.

While Covid and other diseases get headlines, medical mistakes are beating out most diseases regarding mortality. Many more people experience lifelong challenges due to such mistakes.

What about making an appointment to see a doctor?

You can compare prices and book flights on 100 different airlines from one website like Kayak — but there’s no such site to book appointments at various clinics, imaging centers, or urgent care. And if you want to compare prices, check reviews, find out whether they accept your insurance, or check availability — good luck.

What about your health history?

Today, you can consolidate all your financial transactions in one banking app — but you can’t consolidate your healthcare records. Your records are spread across 2 urgent cares, 2 hospitals, 6 doctors’ offices and an imaging center.

After you’ve visited a hospital and racked up massive charges, they consider your medical record their property.

They may choose to sell it to Google and other 3rd parties while making it hard for you to get. Why? They don’t want to make it easy for you to go to another facility.

Our US government and NIH spend a shamefully small amount on the cause of diseases and prevention.

We have little understanding on how to understand and prevent the escalation of diseases like autism, allergies, diabetes and depression are escalating. We instead spend billions on potential blockbuster drugs as our nation's health declines.

Where is the love?

For generations, working in healthcare was a calling, an act of service. Today, people enter the field because it is one of the highest paying fields for executives. The hippocratic oath is a distant memory for many providers today who now think about profits over people.