12/12/2024
I know y'all wanted my opinoin on the horrific murder of a CEO. Murder is no way to deal with a problem & in the US we have a problem with healthcare. That is my opinion.
The US leads the world in bio-medical advancements, yet ranks 54th in infant mortality out of 227 countries. We have some of the highest rates of preventable and treatable deaths for all ages. We rank last among 16 high-income countries for deaths that could have been prevented with timely access to effective health care. About 1 in 10 people in the United States don't have/can not afford health insurance. Our health care infrastructure and access to care is terrible. There is not only a huge gap between the rich having more access, we also have the lowest number of primary care physicians per capita. Currently we have 26.1 physicians per capita, which is much lower than the top-scoring Sweden and Greece, with 70.62 and 63.06 doctors per capita, respectively.
One of the problems is big business controlling the variables, doctors can't easily order expensive test without insurance approval for the test. Remember 10% of us don't even have insurance to access the doctors that order the tests when conditions are actually treatable.
United Health Care (UHG) ranks fourth in the 2024 Fortune 500 list, with a revenue of $371,622 million. They are profitable and big. They have the lowest amount of Medicare recipients in their plan leave their UHC/UHG coverage because they are comparatively very competitive, so they're big.
Adam Smith talks about the invisible hand that guides the market, a supply and demand market. Another way to think of it is, when you fear a stock is going to do poorly you sell. When a stock is going to go up/do well you buy it. Fear of loss and greed for gain to make our investments payoff guides the stock market. Fear and greed is Adam's invisible hand.
With Fear and greed guiding our healthcare how do we expect it to be in the best interest of our population's health? It works great for developing drugs, especially new medicine, because new medicine is expensive. Based on 2023 revenues, Johnson & Johnson-made/earned $85.2bn, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd- made/earned $66.4bn, Merck & Co – $60.1bn & Pfizer – $58.5bn. Johnson & Johnson's net worth as of December 09, 2024 is $359.48 billion. That is a lot of money. Joaquin Duato, the CEO and chairman of Johnson & Johnson, received $28.4 million in total compensation in 2023. That is a lot of compensation.
We are culpable in that our 401Ks invest in mutual funds that own a portion of the aforementioned Fortune 500 companies. Our capitalist health systems need improvements &/or regulations, otherwise the invisible hand, or as I like to call it fear and greed, guide(s) our market and therefore guides our healthcare approvals & denials.
Some people are saying "Medicare for all!" In general Medicare only covers 80% of most medical costs. Being 1 of the most expensive countries for healthcare costs, that 20% could wipe out anyone. Imagine taking a helicopter ambulance ride costing $50,000 on average. Without insurance what would you do to pay that? With only 80% coverage & a 20% coinsurance, could you pay it? Can the average retired person? No.
We have a ton of work to do as a country, our healthcare is a mess, atrocious I dare say. We do not want to work our entire life to only have all of our savings and 401K earnings go back to the companies we invested in for medical, health & drug costs. Many would like to pass their life savings etc. to their children, not drug companies and insurance companies.
Sincerely opinonated, Chuck Bickel
