III. 2025 United States Health Care ꟷ A Certifiable, Cataclysmic, Chaotic, Dispassionate Hot Mess

The United States Health Care System

(USHCS) Created

Common Sense II

T Michael White MD FACP

www.fixingushealthcare.com

The Realization of Universal Access to ABC-STEEEP

(Affordable, Basic, Compassionate - Safe, Timely, Efficient, Effective, Equitable/Just, Patient-Centered Care)

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III. 2025 United States Health Care ꟷ A Certifiable, Cataclysmic, Chaotic,

Dispassionate Hot Mess

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong,

gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

Thomas Paine

In 2025, United States health care declared itself to be a certifiable cataclysmic, chaotic, dispassionate hot mess. What does this travesty look like?

From 30,000 feet, United States health care appears to inefficiently (abuse,

bureaucracy, duplication, fraud, greed, inattention, lack of leadership, waste) offer world class care to the majority of its citizens. However, down in the trenches, the truth is much different:

• Finding one’s way to a hospital, one can reliably anticipate exceptional clinical care

provided by well-trained, dedicated, compassionate professionals ꟷ our fine ‘Better

Angels.’ All good.

• Citizens protected by both Medicare equivalents and personal wealth are positioned to comfortably address steep premiums, co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance and out-of-pocket annual maximums. They, our lucky ones, are, for the moment, doing just fine.

• Prior to the last decade, those with Medicare and minimal savings and those with

  employer-sponsored health insurance and modest incomes felt they had reasonable

  access to ABC-STEEEP if/when illness or accident intervened. In 2025, this is no longer the case. Despite massive government support for Medicare and significant employer contributions to employee health insurance, personal premiums, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and unrealistic out-of-pocket annual maximums become unaffordable if/when significant illness or accident intervene. A new beast now roams our land ꟷ The Great Health Insurance Paradox ꟷ expensively ‘insured’ when well but expensively ‘uninsured’ when accident or illness intervene. Wrong; very wrong.

• In 2025, even if ‘insured,’ the cost (premiums, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and

  out-of-pocket annual maximums) of caring for significant illness or accident is

  jeopardizing the career, education, food, health, housing and retirement securities of

  millions of our ‘insured’ citizens. Their jeopardy is so massive it is destabilizing our

  institutions, our communities, our nation’s economy and our national security. Serious business this.

• Then there are the millions of uninsured citizens. Imagine for a moment a young couple (two children and little savings) who are both working two part-time jobs for employers who adeptly avoid the expense of providing employer-sponsored health insurance by hiring them part-time. Imagine significant illness or accident. Then, fast forward a tick and imagine them, destabilized by massive health care financial obligations, living in their car. Quite unimaginable, you say, in our fine, decent, wealthy, virtuous country ꟷ au contraire, mon ami.

• Surely compassion, justice and wisdom require that our country’s enlightened

  leadership pragmatically protect personal and national securities with a medical safety net. Just not so. In fact, in 2025, our country’s politicians are trimming Medicaid, have canceled (already too expensive) Obamacare subsidies, are eviscerating public health (vaccine, fluoride) protections and are actively undermining public confidence in medical science and providers who practice evidence-based medicine. No surety in leadership here.

A certifiable, cataclysmic, chaotic, dispassionate hot mess? Harsh words those ꟷ just not harsh enough.

You may leave an anonymous comment without inserting username and email ꟷ please do. Please share your wisdom, insights and perceptions (your reality) about what I have right, have wrong and/or have omitted. I will be delighted to hear from you as this draft and subsequent chapters will be significantly enhanced. 

Best regards, Dr. Mike