“Avarice,” by Jesus Solana.

Vikas Saini, M.D., president of the Lown Institute, and Shannon Brownlee, the healthcare reform organization’s vice president, discuss in the Huffington the massive, greed-fueled corruption in U.S. healthcare that drives up costs to astronomical levels and ravages the economy.

They write:”

“Our health care system is no longer about relieving the suffering of patients… It’s about making money.
“Why? Because our increasingly corporatized healthcare system is driven by an insatiable appetite for profit. Our healthcare system is no longer about relieving the suffering of patients or the intrinsic value of maintaining the health of our population. It’s about making money: for pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, hospitals, insurance companies, and increasingly, for doctors. And all of these players are gaming the system and hurting patients in the process.”

“Healthcare spending consumes one-fifth of GDP. While health care does create jobs, it also takes jobs away by reducing spending for other public goods: housing, education, and infrastructure. Healthcare costs bankrupt patients, choke small businesses, contribute to stagnate wages, and force governments at all levels to trim public services.”

To read the piece, please hit this link.