Understanding the Shift to Corporatized Healthcare
The U.S. healthcare system has fallen to a greed and profit-driven entity. From being focused on patient care to being profit-driven, large corporations now dictate patient care. As commented upon by Martin S. Finkelstein, MD, in his book, CORPORATIZED, MANAGED HEALTHCARE: YOUR HEALTH – YOUR CHOICES – YOUR DISTRESS – MY DISMAY, “Patients’ control of, or influence over, their health care has been lost, ceded to corporations.” This transition has opened up the gates for insurance companies, hospital networks, and pharmaceutical corporations to make profits instead of prioritizing the well-being of patients.
Corporate interests now command the terms of care, from the levels of supply of prescription drugs to the number of available appointments with specialists. It is not health care professionals who will ultimately determine treatment decisions; it is financial stakeholders who will weigh in to decide which procedures and medications are approved. The result? Higher costs, longer waits, and further aggravation on the part of patients trying to navigate a system that has grown ever more complex.
The Hidden Costs of Corporate Healthcare
One of the most dreadful consequences of corporatized healthcare is the multiple different billing systems and insurance clogs. Many of the patients find themselves trapped in a maze of insurance approvals, surprise medical bills, and denied claims. However, by lying heavily on qualifying insurance for medical benefits, this needless administrative burden has created inefficiencies for the patients and providers resulting in increased overall healthcare costs.
Finkelstein states, “The consequences of these changes contribute to a health care system that is perhaps the most expensive in the world…yet not very gratifying for patients.” The United States spends more per capita on health care than any other developed nation; nevertheless, patients have poorer outcomes and satisfaction rates in comparison to those of other developed countries.
How Corporatization Affects You
- Patients often have to wait many weeks or sometimes even months before they can finally obtain their necessary treatment because insurance pre-approval and rationing are much speedier processes than those for treatment provision.
- High numbers of patients are surprised by bills emanating from unclear billing practices that add to financial stress.
- Fewer competition among providers owing to mergers and acquisitions has caused limited provider choices; hence patients generally have very few choices available to them when it comes to selecting their doctor or hospital.
- Adding more patients into the same space of time downgrades care quality and burnishes the professionals.
This does not affect patients only but also healthcare professionals. Increased bureaucratic red tape and restrictions hinder the ability of doctors and nurses to give individualized, timely care to their patients.
Steps to Take Control of Your Healthcare
Even with corporate leadership in the healthcare sector, patients still have choices. Patient education and taking an active role in their healthcare decisions should facilitate the progress of a patient through the system. Here is what the patient can do:
1. Know Your Rights
Before you know it, you’ll be cornered and tested by exploitative practices. Know your insurance, ask for itemized bills, and ask about any unexpected charges! Some hospitals do offer financial assistance programs, only, most fail to advertise them. So make sure whenever an unfair bill lands on your doorstep, you challenge it.
- Try to get all the details about any medical bill and any charge before you actually pay any amount.
- Understand the policy’s situations, limitations, and provisions on appeal.
- Find patient-advocacy groups that can help you argue against charges that you consider unfair.
2. Advocate for Reform
Give immense power to collective action in denouncing corporatization. Both patients and healthcare professionals need to come together and press for systemic changes that place people ahead of profits. They must support organizations that advocate for transparent pricing, universal healthcare, or stronger patient rights; this will eventually compel the system to the side of patients’ favor.
Ways to get involved:
- Support various advocacy groups that focus on patient-first legislation.
- Communicate with your representatives, urging the enactment of healthcare policies that emphasize affordability and accessibility.
- Bring the reality of corporate healthcare to many people to generate momentum for change.
3. Consider Alternative Healthcare Models
Being unable to access healthcare via conventional insurance could, however, lead to a search for alternative models that will provide better access to care. Direct primary care (DPC) for instance, can create a direct relationship between patients and doctors via subscription payments making it free of extraneous influence. Longer appointment times, cheaper spending, and better patient-physician interactions are fostered through such an arrangement.
Some other alternatives include:
- Health-sharing ministries: community-based plans where members share health expenses.
- Telemedicine: virtual consultation for faster and more affordable health access.
- Concierge medicine: some doctors offer membership-based services for personalized services.
Though none of these models are perfect systems, they give momentum to envision what a more patient-centered system could look like.
4. Be Your Own Advocate
Dissecting the procedure requires persistence, and when a treatment or test seems to be medically necessary, but the insurance denies it, it has to be appealed. On the flip side, if there is a doctor who walks in, listens to everyone in the room, and there is no eye contact towards you, it’s time to get a second opinion! Every new irritation that a patient uncovers in dealing with “corporate health care” will only create more pressure on the system for making changes.
- Keep records of your medical history, all of your test results, and all conversations that you have had with the insurance company.
- Do not hesitate to seek out a new provider if your current one fails you.
- Inquire whether any drug is available as a generic or if a payment plan can be arranged for your high-priced drug.
The Future of Healthcare: A Call to Action
The corporatization of medical services is not a fate set in stone but a system that must be fought against and changed. The healthcare system should be such that it keeps the welfare of the patients above the profits of corporations. You can start acting toward your medical future by keeping yourself informed, initiating reforms, and looking for alternatives.
In all cases, united we stand, and divided we fall-it is this collective action that will dismantle the broken system. The louder the voice becomes for demand for transparency, affordability, and patient-first, the closer the society gets toward a system that serves the needs of its people. The time is ripe to return the power to the patients, giving back to healthcare what it should be: compassionate, accessible, and effective for all.