Why Healthcare Is In A Death Spiral: Follow The Money

The US healthcare system is facing a death spiral due to unsustainable financial practices. Health systems profit from inflated real estate, data sales, and kickbacks, with actual care delivery being a loss leader. Insurance companies have become mere administrators of government programs, losing their ability to manage risk. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is failing as only the sickest rely on it, creating a non-viable risk pool. Government subsidies mask the system's flaws, and suppressed payments for resources drive clinicians to cash-pay markets. Current healthcare models struggle to compete in the cash-pay market due to legacy costs and business models. Reform is needed to allow cash-pay, restrict not-for-profit involvement, allow clinician ownership, and enforce antitrust laws. True reform requires focusing on delivery rather than payments, which current stakeholders are incentivized to ignore. The existing system fails to address connections between diet, fitness, and health, which undermines its purpose.