Key Takeaways:
- America is the only developed nation that doesn’t consider healthcare a basic human right.
- A large number of US citizens are burdened with huge medical debts.
- Nearly 60% of Americans had to borrow money to deal with unexpected $1,000 expense.
- The average annual family medical copays and out-of-pocket deductibles hit $6,575 in 2023.
- Frederick Ludwig Hoffman played a crucial role in blocking the advancement of a state-funded health insurance system.
- Hoffman’s propagation of scientific racism helped keep health insurance in the hands of for-profit giants in America.
Rooting of Inequality: A Historical Perspective
The inconsolable demise of UnitedHealth CEO, Brian Thompson, has triggered several questions about giant insurance companies in America and their disturbing influence on the healthcare scene. Americans bear significantly higher expenditure for health care than their global counterparts, with poorer outcomes. Our country clings to an embarrassing distinction as the only developed nation not recognizing healthcare as a human right.
Grim Picture of Health Inequality
Only in America do we observe that more than two-thirds of the populace lack access to affordable healthcare. This results in half-million families annually sliding into bankruptcy due to sickness. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of U.S. citizens bear a crushing $220 billion medical debt. On top of this, racial disparity, an ugly scar on the face of our nation, persists in our society since its founding. This discrimination is intrinsically linked to the astronomical $370 billion in revenue and $32 billion in profit that companies like UnitedHealth generate annually.
The Paradox of American Healthcare
A sudden, unexpected $1,000 expense would have compelled almost 60% of US citizens to borrow money. It’s interesting to note that families in America were expected to pay an average of $6,575 in medical copays and out-of-pocket deductibles in 2023. This financial burden lands heavily on the minority groups, suggesting that this trend is not accidental.
Healthcare Reform Blocked by ‘Scientific Racism’
According to the discredited pseudoscience called ‘scientific racism’, if not for the legacies of slavery, white supremacy, and racism, America could have implemented a national, single-payer healthcare system in 1915. Frederick Ludwig Hoffman and the Prudential Life Insurance Company, significant figures in this disturbing history, strongly opposed any form of government assistance that might benefit African Americans and advocated for the superiority of the Aryan race.
Lifelong Advocacy of Racial Extinction Theory
Frederick Ludwig Hoffman proposed the racial extinction theory, which suggests that offering any assistance to the African Americans could potentially accelerate their extinction. Until his death in 1946, Hoffman campaigned actively against any form of national health insurance program that might slow down the extinction of Black people in America.
Hoffman’s Damning Influence on Healthcare System
By the end of the Progressive Era, Hoffman’s tireless campaign against a national health insurance program had severely impacted the American healthcare landscape. His influence was so extensive that most of the anti–compulsory health insurance literature could be traced back to him, effectively quashing the national push for universal healthcare.
Impacts Continue to be Felt
The destructive legacy of Hoffman’s scientific racism lingers on today as America grapples with a fragmented and inequitable healthcare system, exacerbated by the poor outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The aftermath of his work continues to stymie efforts to enact meaningful healthcare reform and is single-handedly driving the U.S. population into the hands of profit-oriented health insurance giants.
Conclusion
Without the disheartening persistence of ‘scientific racism’, America might have joined the ranks of developed nations that provide a competent and efficient national healthcare system. Instead, its citizens must contend with for-profit health insurance behemoths that continue to suck their resources dry. Breaking free of this abysmal cycle necessitates a concerted effort to challenge and overturn these problematic ideologies and practices.