Health Care is a Rip-Off

What we call health care is a bad deal for thewhen costs skyrocketed (with the advent of
consumer. The name alone is a lie. It should beMedicare in 1965)
called "sickness care" or even "sickness facilitationSetting the whole complicated mess under the
" because, for those who are covered, it tricksthumb of the insurance industry added another
them into placing the responsibility for their healthlayer of bureaucratic expense and the need for
on their doctor. This is a big mistake.ever-increasing profitability because these are
We are each individually in charge of our ownpublicly owned corporations that are expected by
health. How can the doctor be at our side all daythe stockholders to show improved profits every
and night to counsel us to "Put that cigarette out!"quarter
or "Don't eat that cheeseburger! Remember yourThis distorts the quality of care and gives
high cholesterol!" By the time we are forced to goincentive to finding new services to sell. It's all
in to the clinic by some scary symptom, we areabout the bottom line, not about the health of the
already in trouble. It is too late for health care --patient anymore.
now it's time for drugs and scalpels.Our health insurance system, by itself, adds 20%
Depending on a doctor for information onto the cost of the medical services provided.
preserving your health is like closing your barnOther countries have better health results for
door after your horse has escaped. It's too late1.5-6% administration costs! We're being
for doing the easy, inexpensive course of action.over-charged, plain and simple.
Now, you're in for it!The pharmaceutical industry charges markups of
So, forget about health care. Health care is not2000-30,000% of the ingredients in the drugs
about health. It is all about getting you back onthey sell. Fifty percent of their costs are not for
the factory floor or back in your cubicle, ready toresearch and development(much of which is
work, so you can keep paying your premiums. Itsubsidized by the taxpayers), but for their
is about extracting as much money as the lawmarketing expenses -- everything from fancy
allows by sending you in for tests, which you maydinners for doctors who sell lots of their
or may not need. It is about selling youmedicines, to the many two and three page ads
prescription drugs that you are instructed to takein magazines urging patients to "Ask your doctor
for the rest of your life -- drugs that counter theif Dynofab is right for you," to all-expenses-paid
effects of your bad food choices, for example.trips to Hawaii to educate doctors on that
Doctor: "The lab tells me you haven't broughtcompany's latest prescription drugs.
your cholesterol down with a change of diet andIn the end, we all must pay for the rich system
exercise since the last time I saw you, John.of perks and comforts of those who have been
What I can do -- to get you down into a safeentrusted with our health. Or, we must find out
range for your LDL -- is give you a prescriptionfor ourselves how to maintain our own health.
for Lipitor."With the present system, the public is not clearly
Patient: "Sorry, Doc. I just can't give up myshown how to prevent disease, nor how to
favorite foods -- eating's the only pleasure I havemaintain optimum health for a long successful life.
left after the wife left me. And taking walksWe are encouraged to turn this sacred task over
around the block just isn't my style."to others, many of whom know little about how
Doctor: "That's fine, John. We'll try Lipitor, then,to maintain health and a great deal about ways to
and see how that works for you. Schedule amake a lot of money by shunting patients
follow-up appointment with my staff before youthrough a labyrinth of tests, drugs, and
leave. Call me if you have any problems."procedures at a substantial profit for the
Health care is a rip-off because:providers, even if the patient doesn't survive it all.
It doesn't address the real problems that causeTo be fair to doctors, very few of them know
most of our illnesses (Namely: our diet, smoking,much about how to preserve health through
excessive drinking, and lack of exercise)intelligent nutrition. They only live to an average
By the time we begin to have symptoms ofage of 57, while their patients live an average of
some disease, it is usually too late for inexpensive75 years, more or less. So, doctors are not
interventionexperts on health -- it is more accurate to call
Most of what ails us, we bring on ourselves -- tothem sales agents for drugs, diagnostic tests, and
correct the after-effects of this is an enormoussurgery.
task...So health care is really not about caring forAsking Congress to negotiate us a better deal is
our health, it's about facilitating our bad behaviorfoolish. The wise consumer will find and implement
and then extracting as much money as possiblea comprehensive program to protect their own
from whatever source -- the patient, thehealth, so they will not find themselves begging
employer, or the taxpayers in generalfor medical care at the end of their life. Without
Out-of-control malpractice claims, together withknowledge, the consumer has no power in the
the need for doctors to keep their high-technegotiation for a fair deal.
diagnostic equipment in use, have encouragedAll the unsophisticated, unhealthy consumer can
doctors to order many unnecessary andexpect is a rip-off when they are forced to beg
expensive testsCongress for affordable health care. Who would
When the federal government got involved islike to break the news to them?