The Future of Private Health Insurance

PHI used to work well, but doesn’t now. Medicare used to work well but doesn’t now.

There are lots of contributing factors, population growth and an aging population being 2 major ones. But I blame medical researchers. Broadly speaking, they have failed to provide solutions. The degree of failure is absolutely astronomical.

With trillions of dollars spent, modern medical science can only cure a tiny handful of conditions. It can cure bacterial infection and some viruses; it can prevent some such infections with vaccines; it has some surgeries and other interventions which are clearly life-saving. But actual cures are extremely rare. Consider just what sort of failure this represents when most conditions and complaints are treated at the symptom level. Consider also what sort of pressure this places on a system when doctors are only able to continue patching symptoms instead of curing conditions outright.

At some point in history, the population became used to the idea that medical science would never really get on top of the responsibilities they were tasked with. In the 1960’s, man walked on the moon, and yet medical researchers are still messing around trying to find a cure for the common cold. Obviously there are some brilliant exceptions, but taken as a whole, they have failed very badly.

The spotlight needs to be taken off the private funds and shone squarely on the lab geeks, the academics, the universities and Big Pharma.