Issues in Healthcare

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of healthcare issues, particularly in the United States, is the outrageous cost of insulin. The cost of insulin has nearly tripled in the past decade and continues to rise. One of the most ironic and frustrating things about high insulin costs is the fact that Frederick Banting, the inventor who discovered insulin in 1923, refused to put his name on the patent because he believed it to be unethical for a doctor to profit from a discovery that would save so many lives. The insulin patent was sold to the University of Toronto for $1 (in hopes of it being affordable for every person who needs it), and now stands as one of the most unaffordable, yet absolutely essential, medications that millions of Americans with diabetes rely on to survive. It’s heartbreaking to think that despite 1 in 4 people in the United States intentionally skipping some of their insulin doses because they simply cannot afford to take the full regimen, insulin prices continue to rise. To my understanding, the high costs of insulin are unwarranted and result (partly) from the small handful of insulin companies that basically hold a monopoly, allowing them to set prices as they wish with very little (if any) regulation. 

It’s clear that our healthcare system views healthcare as a privilege, otherwise a medication that is necessary to keep millions of Americans with diabetes alive would not be so ridiculously expensive. When patients are left with no other option but to cut their insulin usage to pay other medical bills, their uncontrolled blood glucose levels can lead to much more serious, expensive, and life-threatening conditions, such as heart attack, stroke kidney problems, and even death. I think it’s a crime that a country spending billions on the military (for absolutely no valid reason at all) allows their citizens to die due to lack of insulin.  There is no reason why someone living in the United States should have to purchase their insulin from other parts of the world. Even with insurance coverage, many people find it much more cost-effective to purchase their insulin from other countries, such as Canada, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Taiwan. Patients who purchase insulin in the United States pay a significantly greater out of pocket cost than other countries. 

I believe there is no valid justification for the high cost of insulin in the United States. There is no reason why anyone should have to ration their insulin, sell their car, sacrifice other essential medications, or not even take their insulin at all at the expense of serious life-threatening conditions, or even death. This, in addition to many other broken parts of our healthcare system, stems from the fact that healthcare is seen as a privilege and not a basic human right in this country. The first step in the right direction is to change that mindset, and if there’s ONE thing that ALL political parties should agree on, it is our right as humans to accessible and affordable healthcare.