Medical Exploitation

The history of medical exploitation in the U.S. is no secret. Personal horror stories range from ambulance rides that cost more than a house downpayment, to intentional neglect and intense distress. Countless instances like these demonstrate that medicine is, above all else, a business. The priority cannot land on the wellbeing of the patients, because the steady flow of money is the true focus.

Rushed decisions by medical practitioners can lead to misdiagnosis, siphoning intense amounts of money from unprepared families. In fact, I have experienced this first hand. When I was ten, I was misdiagnosed with cancer in my left leg. Although my diagnosis was rushed and not reviewed, I was still scheduled for thousands of dollars worth of treatment and surgery. Searching for an escape, my parents contacted my uncle, Mathew Hayes, a radiologist who created his own MRI company, ScanLabs. With his connections to some of the best oncologists in the world, he was able to get a second opinion, which discovered that my leg was misdiagnosed, saving my leg from potential amputation. Because of this, when asked about where priorities should lie in hospitals, he shared his dissatisfaction with the system:

Adjacent to this, he also shared an anecdote of his time in Egypt, and what he learned about motivation in hospitals. He explained that a lack of money involved may decrease motivation for employees: “So what do they have to do? They have to make their examination shorter. They have to scan more patients and they'd have to, they have to be in a hurry and they can't afford the better machines. So you can say what you will for American medicine and you know, how much of a, how much of a driver money is for it. But with a driver, with money as a driver comes quality.” To summarize, he explained that money will always play a factor in healthcare, but it shouldn’t impact the patients, “It's a business. You have to stay open, but your patients don't have to feel that they shouldn't feel that, your employees should not feel like they're herding cattle. Every place does things differently.”

So, these high prices may increase quality when help is sought. But, do the high prices of aid promote avoiding help? Many people’s personal experiences demonstrate that ignoring their issues is the only viable option financially. As a reflection on this issue, the NIH admits, “National costs for cancer care were estimated to be $190.2 billion in 2015. Assuming constant future costs, we project costs to be $208.9 billion in 2020.” These terrifying statistics come from the amount of patients that simply can’t afford treatment plans, leading to people sacrificing themselves for their wallets: avoiding assistance, check ups, and potentially life-saving treatments, due to the financial burden. Financial aid may come through various non-profits and insurance, but that is still not always enough.

All in all, the healthcare system is ironically inhumane. If you don’t have the money, don’t know the right people, or don’t get the right help, you may suffer physically and financially. Although, this may lead to higher quality work and better machines, that will be useless on those who can’t even afford the ambulance ride to the hospital. The American health care system isn’t all bad, but a middle ground between patients and profits must be established.