The tragic death of the CEO for United Healthcare in New York City is disturbing. No one deserves to lose their life, or loved one to violence regardless of their employ.

This tragedy does make one reflect on the desperation of healthcare in the United States, with medical bankruptcies taking place all too often. Is that what this desperate act of violence was about (economic revolution?) I hope law enforcement catches the perp and determines the motivation. All of this is a sad image we paint for the world to see.

When one loses a child based largely on an insurance decision (United Healthcare by the way) one tends to hold a grudge. In 2019 my wife and I lost her youngest child to a rare liver disease called Budd-Chiari Syndrome. It took years to get a diagnosis for him, and countless trips to the E.R in the middle of the night only to be pushed off as indigestion or in need of a bowel movement. He passed away after surgery from a botched “TiPs” procedure to unblock a hepatic vein in his liver. The puncture caused him to bleed internally. The hospital (name withheld purposefully) was the choice of the insurer. Our University of Iowa medical team suggested the University of Pittsburgh or Northwestern University hospitals as these two centers were the top two pediatric Budd-Chiari hospitals in the nation. Why were we sent to the other hospital? The other two were not in the United Healthcare network at that time. A medical decision was made by a bureaucrat rather than a doctor. This isn’t uncommon at all. We are left asking ourselves, “What if?” every day essentially.

When we moved to a new community in 2020 we transferred our health care from the University of Iowa network to the local establishment, and we were rudely awakened to how bad medical profiteering had become. The new doctors we saw took minor medical issues we had and ordered procedure after procedure. Before long we were receiving bills over a thousand dollars as our insurance did not cover everything. When comparing the bills with similar procedures by the U of Iowa hospital we saw 300% increases in cost. It turns out this particular hospital had independent contractors working out of their clinics and hospitals. The contractors would bill the hospital or clinic and then the hospital/clinic would add their charge with a healthy increase for profit at the expense of the insurance agency and the patient.

Then there is the process of paying the fees. If you couldn’t pay the fee in 90 days it was turned into collections. If you qualified for their credit card program you could pay the fee off in 180 days for zero interest. If it took longer the interest fee was 24.95% and that interest would be accruing day one. I remember one procedure my wife had where she became conscious before the procedure ended. The anesthesiologist was not paying attention, and said “whoopsie” when my wife awoke. We refused to pay this bill due to malpractice. Complaints were logged with United Healthcare, the independent contractor, and the hospital where the procedure was performed. The hospital reviewed the situation with their team and said nothing out of normal procedures happened. (Another problem: No independent oversight.) They turned us into collections. We gave the collection agency all of our information and said, go after them for your money. They scammed you. Haven’t heard from them since, and it was erased from our credit rating.

My worst experience was hip pain. Turns out I need a new one. The doctor at the local orthopedic clinic (associated with the hospital and clinics as an independent contractor) looked at two x-rays, and said I needed surgery now. We began the process of surgery prep tests. A routine cardiogram, led to a nuclear heart stress test. The $9000 test that insurance covered all but $1200 of was unnecessary. I moved during the cardiogram ever so slightly causing an anomaly. After passing the test, the orthopedic center wanted 50% down to get the surgery. I laughed at that poor receptionist when she said that.

We moved our care back to the University of Iowa. We got actual medical care there. The “U” as I call it also works with their patients on medical billing. I still need a new hip, but the doctors said there is no rush. The 18 months of hassle with the local medical establishment was costly and irritating. We shelled out more cash for medical care in that 18 month time span than we had in four years with the “U” previously. In the final customer satisfaction survey for the local hospital after a high blood pressure event (where I was prescribed a muscle relaxer instead of high blood pressure medicine.) I wrote in the survey that I would rather risk death during a 60 mile ride to Iowa City than have them kill me in their emergency room in ten minutes and charge my wife 30% of the cost before leaving. We did not receive a response.

Insurance companies just add to the expense. It is an unfunded mandate run by a business cartel. Actuarial tables and cost differentials in a spreadsheet determine whether or not you receive treatment. A medical doctor at an insurance desk makes the decision without seeing you personally. What are their qualifications? Have they been sued for malpractice? Are they an alcoholic or drug user? Many questions run through one’s mind about qualifications of this insurance doctor. How can you make a medical diagnosis from data alone without seeing a patient when you are 600-1000 miles away? How can you override a colleague that is actually on the forefront of medical research? Oh wait… blackmail in the form of a salary. More lack of oversight. It’s all about investing your dime, and profiting off of your lack of care. Just like a drug cartel. We don’t care what you do with the product, as long as you pay.

The United States is the last developed country without a nationalized medical system. Why? Convenience? No, it is profit. To add insult to injury the Affordable Care Act now pays insurance companies tax dollars to the cartels (insurance companies) for medical care. (Neoliberalism at its finest.) What would happen if we did a medicare for all?

Let’s say we all pay 15% more in taxes per year for health care, but eliminate the health insurance expense. Well let me see…. I pay more than $800 a month for insurance for my family of five. I would see a monthly savings of about $125 ($1500 yearly) for my family. Easy decision to support. Now if I were single, my healthcare needs are not as grand as a family of five. Ok, then the single wage earner pays 6-8%. A married couple could be 10 or 11%. I’m just throwing numbers out here, hypothetically. If one is incredibly wealthy obviously you would pay more. How is that a bad thing? How much money does one really need anyway? Personally if I made as much money as Elon Musk, I would be comfortable paying the large tax rate and then give a lot of it to my community to make it better… I wouldn’t be able to spend it all… I don’t need a 35 room mansion. I would settle for a nice farm house with 100 acres to run an animal sanctuary. I digress…

How would we manage it? We already have the bureaucracy in place in both the federal and state governments to handle Medicare for all, we just need employees to handle the additional paperwork and financial dispensations. Displaced insurance employees from closed insurance cartels could apply for work in the bureaucracy. These workers could all work from home (remotely.) No relocations necessary. No additional infrastructure needed. Since Medicare for All is a non-profit entity medical costs will have to fall and medical companies will have to shift their profit making strategies from tens of millions to maybe just millions or hundreds of thousands. How much money is enough? Yes, millions in R and D, intellectual property, blah blah blah… What if you break even on that and you profit an additional 5%? Recycle the R and D money… sorry, I’m just a music teacher… what do I know about business… again I digress….

The harsh reality of the United States healthcare system: people are simply a commodity and healthcare is a for profit business designed to prey on the misery of others. We have all been reduced to a commodity. Our lives (investments) are traded just like corn, soybeans, and oranges…

Shareholders are not worth more than the people you insure…

This idealist dissents with the insurance cartels and the government that gives them tax dollars to cover the ACA. It is time for Medicare for all. We can all live just fine using triage priority medical coverage. All Americans deserve better than the system we have now.

In conclusion, our deepest sympathies to the Thompson family on your tragic loss. I hope you can find peace and grace at this difficult time. We know what you are going through…

….so it goes