Snapshot of the American Medical Crisis
Snapshot: The American Healthcare System in Crisis
by Dejaye Botkin, LPC
A man flips his car multiple times and is needed rescuing with the jaws of life. The emergency room is notified, the car crash survivor is on his way, and the clinical director assembles the best team of physicians to greet the patient upon arrival. Surgery is performed, and other than a long road of rehabilitation - the patient is stable and given an excellent prognosis. This patient is Tiger Woods.
With the same set of circumstances, the same car accident happens with a low-income, non-insured, non-recognizable average American man. He most likely dies at the scene; however, if he is rescued, he will become disabled and live in chronic pain for life. He will never be able to pay back his medical costs, and he will likely become addicted to opiates.
A man was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel and rushed to the hospital in critical condition. After a near-fatal overdose, the patient suffered twelve strokes and six heart attacks while in a coma. His team of doctors never expected him to recover. While this man was in the hospital, the Kardashian family collaborated with a highly competent team of doctors and spared no expense to nurse him back to health. Now he is playing basketball again in the BIG3. The man is Lamar Odom.
The same Nevada brothel overdose happens after a multiple-day binge with a low-income, non-insured, non-recognizable, average American man. The patient does not survive and dies at the scene.
A 74-year-old man becomes infected with the Covid-19 virus. Due to his age and obesity contributing to the severity of his respiratory distress, he is flown by helicopter to the best hospital in the country. A highly experienced team of Doctors greets the patient. The man is treated with drugs that are not available to the public and discharged two days later. The man is Donald Trump.
Another 74-year-old obese man who is low-income, non-insured, non-recognizable also becomes infected with the Covid-19 virus. He passes away in the hospital without his family by his side. His dead body is stored in a freezer truck with all of the others.
The takeaway from these case studies is that the quality of healthcare in America is based on affluence and social status.
“The Irony is that most of the rural low-income Americans protesting Obama Care are the ones who would benefit from the program the most.”
– Barack Obama, a Promised Land
