Points2Ponder: When Healing Turns to Dealing: The Profit Paradox

Is Our Healthcare System Designed to Heal or Profit: The Paradox of Turning Ill Health into Wealth?

Philipose

Healthcare is undeniably one of the most critical industries today, and its importance will only grow. As people live longer, face more health challenges, and depend on the promises of advanced medical care, the need for robust healthcare systems has never been more pressing. Yet, amidst the high stakes of life-saving treatments, there's an uncomfortable reality: the very people who need healthcare the most, the vulnerable and sick, are often burdened with unbearable costs. These costs are not accidental; they are baked into a system that prioritizes profit and the medical lobby's support over patients' well-being.

The Massive Ecosystem of Healthcare

Let’s start by recognizing that healthcare is an industry, and like any industry, it has a food chain. From the top, we have the medical lobby, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of medical devices, and high-tech machinery. These corporations support the system by constantly innovating and creating the very tools that promise to save lives.

But who pays for this enormous system? The answer, tragically, is the vulnerable sick—those desperate to survive, often willing to sell everything they have just to afford another day of life. It is these patients who cover the salaries of doctors, nurses, lab technicians, administrators, support staff, and even the logistics costs associated with the transportation of machines and medicines. Not only that, but they are also burdened with sales taxes, customs duties, and, indirectly, the income taxes of healthcare professionals.

One might argue that all of this is necessary to maintain high standards of care. But the question remains: are healthcare professionals serving their patients, or are they serving the system? More specifically, are they supporting the vulnerable sick, or are they, knowingly or unknowingly, sustaining the medical lobby’s insatiable hunger for profit?

The High Price of Medicine: Is It Really Necessary?

The most glaring evidence of the medical lobby’s dominance comes in the form of drug pricing. For example, why does a specialist doctor prescribe a medicine costing ₹100,000 when a generic version for ₹7,000 would do the same job? Is it because the higher-priced medication is inherently superior, or is it because the doctor is part of a system that benefits from these inflated prices?

Consider this: a simple drug like Cilnidipine, which costs ₹40 for 10 tablets, is often sold under brand names for ₹280. This tenfold increase in price isn’t justified by any improvement in efficacy. The difference is in the branding—and the doctors, who are incentivized, whether explicitly or subtly, to prescribe the more expensive option.

Is Healthcare About Healing, or About Business?

If you think these examples are isolated, consider the case of diagnostic testing. Why is a 72-hour WebCardio test recommended over a more reliable 24-hour Holter test, which costs a fraction of the price? The answer, once again, points to the medical lobby.

Doctors, who are supposed to serve their patients’ best interests, are often caught in the web of profit-driven healthcare practices. They don’t prescribe these tests because they are always the best option for the patient. They prescribe them because they are required to support the network of companies and services that keep the healthcare industry running.

The medical lobby, in many ways, controls the decision-making process in healthcare. Even well-meaning doctors may find themselves forced into supporting this system because it’s how they get paid. The drugs they prescribe, the tests they order, the machines they use—all of these are connected to a vast commercial enterprise that prioritizes profit over care.

A Doctor’s Perspective: Are They Really Different?

A close friend of mine, raised in a family of doctors, made a sobering observation: “Regardless of their language, region, or religion, most specialist doctors are strikingly similar. They all seem to support the medical lobby.” This statement isn't rooted in sarcasm but in lived experience. Despite their best intentions, doctors often find themselves compelled to operate within the economic structures that dominate the healthcare industry, leaving them with little choice but to conform to the system.

It raises the question: can healthcare ever truly be about healing as long as it remains so deeply intertwined with business? As long as patients are seen as consumers rather than people in need, the system will continue to function in a way that supports the few at the expense of the many.

The Ethical Dilemma: Should We Support the Medical Lobby?

If we step back and analyze the situation from a purely logical standpoint, the case for supporting the medical lobby becomes clear. The system exists, and it thrives on profit. Without profit, the pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t produce life-saving drugs, the manufacturers wouldn’t create the machines that diagnose diseases, and the healthcare system as we know it would collapse.

But this line of thinking ignores the core issue: should healthcare be driven by profit at all? When a person’s life is on the line, should their ability to survive depend on how much they can pay into a system that views them as a financial opportunity rather than a human being in need? The medical lobby argues that innovation and advancements in healthcare require financial investment. But at what cost? If the price of progress is the suffering of the vulnerable sick, is it worth it?

The Conclusion: A Call for Change

The current healthcare system, dominated by the medical lobby, leaves us with a moral dilemma. We can continue to support it because it maintains the status quo and ensures the continued advancement of medical technology. Or we can challenge it, demanding a system that prioritizes patients over profit, that puts human lives before financial gain. But let’s not overlook the truth that amidst this complex structure, there are hospitals, doctors, nurses, and medical staff who are deeply committed to the welfare of the sick and vulnerable. These are the individuals who dedicate their lives to serving humanity, often driven by a vision and mission to alleviate suffering, even when the system around them doesn’t always support that goal.

Their service is admirable, especially in a world where not every illness has an answer, and where medicine cannot always provide solutions. Hats off to those who have chosen the medical profession to truly serve humanity. They recognize that the human body is fearfully and wonderfully made by a Designer who has programmed life and health in intricate ways. This recognition opens the door to understanding that wellness is not just confined to pharmaceutical interventions but can also be found in alternative, holistic approaches that honor the body’s natural ability to heal.

In supporting these dedicated professionals, we can advocate for a system that balances modern medicine’s achievements with an openness to broader perspectives on health and well-being. In doing so, we uphold the dignity of the vulnerable sick, affirming that their lives are worth more than the profit margins of the medical lobby.

The choice is ours. Will we continue to support a system that benefits the few at the expense of the many, or will we fight for a healthcare system that truly cares for the vulnerable, while also honoring those who serve with compassion and integrity?