It’s Time to End the “Business” that Healthcare has Become

The U.S. claims to have one of the best medical systems in the world, yet the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. is medical bills. Quite self contradictory isn’t it? Or maybe not when you realize that healthcare has become primarily a business in the U.S. These high costs of healthcare in our country have created large barriers to access to healthcare in our nation which has prevented a lot of people from getting the healthcare they need. It can be hard for individuals who fall in the category of being ineligible for Medicaid, but not wealthy enough to afford private insurance or care if they are not covered by their employer. Or copays or insurance premiums might be too much for other people to be able to routinely get the care they need. Hospitals charge individuals thousands of dollars for visits sometimes just for simple tasks. This frequently comes back to a hospital’s chargemaster which is a document that contains all of a hospital’s prices for all of their services. Hospitals can easily manipulate these and are able to charge patients large amounts of money which makes healthcare inaccessible to some.

What good is healthcare when not everyone can access it? Healthcare has drifted away from its main purpose in our country and is no longer about actually helping people. While many hospitals may be private companies, this does not mean they should have full reign over such an important human necessity. I believe that policies should be implemented that will place restrictions on hospitals from charging such high prices. There should be rules that create a maximum charge for certain services or a base requirement. This can be tedious and a lot of work, but it can make healthcare more standardized and fair rather than a transactional relationship. This may seem like regulation over an industry at first, but the benefits for the people of the U.S. will be much better. Individuals will not have to worry as much about not being able to get care because of not being able to afford high prices. This will take down major access to healthcare and improve the lives of thousands of people. Moreover, taking the control out of these private company’s hands and placing it back in the hands of the people will make healthcare more about humans once again and not money. It is important that we have a society where individuals feel like they are able to get help for their issues without going into debt. We all live in this country together and it is important that we make healthcare a system in which people feel safe and protected rather than vulnerable and used.