Broken Health Care System: As a physician and health care leader, I initially chose not to comment on the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Speculating about the shooter’s intent seemed unhelpful and risked sensationalizing a tragic act. However, more than a month later, I feel compelled to address a crucial aspect of this story: the overwhelming public reaction on social media. Tens of thousands of people “liked” and “laughed” at the news of Thompson’s death, prompting an important question—why would someone react this way?
A Deep-Rooted Pain, Not Just Frustration
News analysts attribute this response to widespread frustration with America’s health care system, citing rising medical costs, complex insurance procedures, and prior authorization delays. While these are valid concerns, they fail to capture the depth of suffering experienced by many. For those who have lost a loved one due to an unresponsive and impersonal system, their emotions go far beyond frustration—they experience profound agony. Broken Health Care System
Reducing health care failures to policy missteps and statistical data dehumanizes the crisis. This detached approach has allowed our nation to overlook the emotional devastation that millions of patients and families endure. When experts discuss soaring health care costs or excessive executive salaries, they often omit the unbearable human suffering hidden behind the numbers.
Until we recognize health care as a moral crisis—not just a financial or political issue—we will never act with the urgency needed to relieve people’s pain.
The Emotional Toll of a Failing System
In Dante’s Inferno, hell is depicted as a place where suffering is endless and cries for help go unheard. For countless Americans navigating the health care system, this metaphor rings true. They feel abandoned, powerless, and desperate. Their reactions to tragedies like Thompson’s death are not driven by joy, but rather by a deep, unrelenting anguish.
As a physician, I have witnessed this pain firsthand in my patients and even within my own family. My cousin Alan passed away in his twenties from a then-incurable cancer, leaving my aunt and uncle devastated. Their grief was immense, but at least they understood that his death resulted from medical limitations, not bureaucratic inefficiencies. Today, many patients die not because treatment is unavailable, but because the system treats them as mere numbers. Profit-driven delays, systemic barriers, and administrative indifference cause preventable tragedies.
Imagine watching a loved one suffer behind a chain-link fence, screaming for help, but no one listens. This is the reality for too many Americans. Until we acknowledge their pain and act decisively, meaningful change will remain elusive.
Shifting from Indifference to Action
When discussions about health care focus solely on statistics—the millions losing Medicaid coverage, the avoidable deaths each year, or the declining life expectancy in the U.S.—we strip the issue of its humanity. Real reform requires recognizing that behind every number is a person suffering needlessly.
Instead of viewing these failures as bureaucratic inefficiencies, we must recognize the emotional and ethical imperative for change. If we fail to act decisively, we are choosing to ignore the suffering of millions.
Transformative Solutions for a Broken System
While lawmakers propose incremental reforms, such as modifying prior authorization rules, these small steps will not solve the systemic crisis. Bold, transformative changes are necessary. Here are three essential actions:
1. Reverse the Obesity Epidemic
- Implement a two-part strategy: tax ultra-processed, sugary foods that contribute to billions in health care costs while capping the manufacturer-set prices of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to align with international pricing standards.
2. Shift from Volume-Based to Value-Based Care
- Transition from fee-for-service payment models, which incentivize excessive procedures, to value-based care. This shift would reward primary care physicians for preventing chronic diseases and improving long-term patient health outcomes.
3. Leverage Generative AI to Save Lives
- Integrate AI tools like ChatGPT to prevent medical errors, misdiagnoses, and improve disease monitoring. AI has the potential to enhance patient safety, increase access to care, and streamline treatment plans.
If policymakers, insurers, and health care leaders fail to take bold action, they are making a conscious choice to perpetuate patients’ suffering. The time for transformative change is now.
To explore more solutions, visit Stanford Physician Advocate.
For further insights, read ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine by Dr. Robert Pearl or follow him on Twitter @RobertPearlMD.