The Cost of Care

Having experienced UK (NHS) and decades of for profit American health care for my chronic issues this is my take on this podcast. Focus on anecdotal experiences and graphic tragic outcomes doesn’t illustrate the everyday mindset and relationship with health care of most Americans. To illustrate: There’s a billion dollar industrial complex of over the counter treatments, alternative care and health and wellness that Americans routinely access in lieu of standard western medical care because the health care system is problematic. Everyday people self diagnose and practice frontier medicine on themselves because of the cost and well known inefficacy of the medical establishment in America. My own chronic condition routinely gets prescribed a cocktail of drugs that are peer review researched to have about the same effect as a placebo and a slew of cumulative nasty side effects that include suicidal ideation. I opted out of those standard treatments. Go figure. And mine is an average experience here in America. In general we don’t trust our health system. And the ramifications of millions of people who no longer use the established medical system (unless they absolutely have to) is the unnecessary death toll (Covid for example)and general unmitigated medical maiming of the population that’s not seen in other countries. When I was living in the UK I was straight up told first day I arrived (apropos of nothing) and like I was a slow child that health care was a human right. And in practice, observing my UK friends/colleagues receive health care and my own personal experiences with NHS made me realize that my experience with the monetization of American health care impacts me in every aspect in a negative way because humans are not disease widgets that need just in time attentions of a mechanized system of delivery that weaponized profit making over good health outcomes. Moreover I learned that on all levels my ideas about health care and how I accessed it were grounded and lensed in the for profit model. And so too is this podcast’s framework and lens intrinsically tied to the for profit model in its unexamined bias and editorial choices that rely on anecdotal evidence of “the cost of human suffering” to drive the narrative. Until we as Americans examine “what is”... that we see basically everything as a marketplace to our own detriment- we’re gonna just have more of the same. And no matter how groundbreaking the discussion is- it will be rendered moot. Health care is a commodity in America not a human right. Yes, medical care has a “price” and billions of other humans planet wide have figured out how to provide for each other because they do not see the overarching need to make profit from medicine.

This podcast puts in the work, delivering information and insights that help to explain health and healthcare issues. So many podcasts are simply promoting fads and products - this doesn’t.

I am a 20 year BH professional. This podcast started out honest, fair, and reflective of so many challenges to our imperfect healthcare system. I consider myself politically neutral and appreciate the objectivity. Unfortunately, the most recent episode shifted to a political “side” and seemed dismissive and perhaps even discriminatory of those who believe differently. I’ve lost my trust….

Working in healthcare, I totally get how dysfunctional our healthcare system is. This podcast brings so many great discussions that we need to engage so we can provide high value care (quality care at low cost).