The United States’ Failing Health Systems [OPINION]

The United States is amidst a myriad of health epidemics. For a first World nation, Americans of all ages are struggling. Who is to blame for the health crises that face the American people today?

As a parent of young children, a participant in the health care industry and a victim of its nature, it has become apparent to me that a heavier focus on the health care issues in America as well as one’s own personal health is needed. Health epidemics run rampant which signal the system at large is failing. The irony in this failing system is that the American health care industry is more expensive than any other health care in any other country in the World. According to a study done at the Harvard Chan School, American doctors are paid more, drugs in the United States are more expensive, hospital services and stays are increasing at exponential rates, and yet as a country we are sick, and our life expectancy is continuously falling. 

We are facing an opioid epidemic. Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City Mayor, cited the Opioid epidemic at the Bloomberg American Health Summit in Washington DC in 2018 as his reason for donating 50 million dollars to address the opioid epidemic. Bloomberg states, “We are experiencing a national crisis: For the first time since World War I, the life expectancy in the U.S. has declined over the past three years- and opioids are a big reason why.” There have been recent efforts in addressing the Opioid epidemic where communities are building safe use spaces for people with substance abuse addictions so as to avoid the prospect of an overdose. 

Autism used to be a relatively uncommon diagnosis in America, but we are seeing Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders increase at an alarming rate. A recent study out of Johns Hopkins University states that 1 in 59 children are currently being diagnosed on the spectrum. Our children are facing an epidemic of catastrophic proportions and my fear is we are turning a blind eye to the culprits. We have environmental toxic concerns where over 100,000 toxins are mass introduced into products every year that go untested by the FDA. Foods that have been sprayed with a deemed carcinogen, glyphosate, and others of the nature, that are readily accessible in our grocer aisle right now. The court case regarding glyphosate in 2018 that found its first guilty verdict for causing cancer pointed to collusion in our government, the EPA with the corporate conglomerate Monsanto, now Bayer, that falsified studies to keep the product on the shelves. The exposure to these toxins and poisons in our food system are just a few of the concerns facing our young people and potential culprits as to why these disorders are growing. 

The Vaccine Industry, which is the only legally non-liable health industry in America, has alarming rates of vaccine injury incidences.  The United States government runs a vaccination injury compensation program that in 2017 alone paid out more than $142 million dollars in 377 cases, these cases accounted for only half the year.  Because the vaccine industry was provided immunity in the 1980’s against being sued, the cost of vaccine injury is handed down to the American people. The concept of a vaccine is ingenious and has very likely led to the irradication of mass disease in multiple capacities especially in nations where sanitation is problematic. Unfortunately, vaccinations are the only FDA approved drugs that have not been double blind tested, the gold standard for the “science” argument. If the CDC and pharmaceutical companies, the ones making billions from the vaccination programs, performs the double blind studies, they could verify the efficacy of vaccinations and thus reduce the risk by the substances of the vaccine and its preservative contents by a substantial percentage and then this could be an issue off the table. Until these studies are done the numbers of injury and payout are concerning for the American people, and for the unfortunate reality that government has shown its willingness to collude with corporations for profits.  

Another health epidemic in America is depression, and anxiety, and they are both on the rise. 45,000 Americans over the age of 10 died by suicide in 2016. Often times those who follow through with suicide have had intervention treatment. The concern that this brings to light is if these treatments are helping, or potentially causing more harm. Though the we do not have the answers to this concern, the fact remains true that 45,000 Americans committing suicide every year is a heart-breaking truth. 

The age old “Americans are overweight” saga continues to burden our society as well. 40 percent of Americans are overweight, and obesity is on the rise. This could be because our food is tainted, our medicine is not working, and the systems in place are meant to function as more of a burden and less of a healing mechanism. As stated above the potential that our government is seeking profits over the health of the American people is a plausible argument as to why these epidemics exist. 

The focus on these multiple health concerns and realities are needed for the understanding of how severe these epidemics truly are to the health and safety of the American people. As a society founded on just principles, we must demand that our health care provide just that, care for our health. Holding these institutions accountable to their poor health care processes could only impact the care in which American people receive in a positive manner. In order to hold these systems accountable, people must take their health into their own hands and become their own advocates. They must keep their medical records on file at home and access every alternative possibility that exists, because as these statistics and realities prove, their life depends on it. When people come together collectively making efforts towards their health in a new standard that has not been forced upon them, the systems change. Additionally, seeking out health food stores, alternative sources of healing, through Chinese medicinal medicines, organic foods, essential oils, and things of this nature, there is more of an opportunity to maintain a healthy lifestyle and perspective with these varying tactics. Our government at large regulates the failing systems, working outside their failing ideas is the only way to take control of one’s life, and thus, one’s health and work towards eliminating the suffering these institutions are disseminating on the American people.