As of now, the death of the United Healthcare CEO is emblematic of a larger problem; healthcare in the world’s wealthiest country sucks. We can discuss the reasons behind this to death, but unless we have an adult conversation about why we have the problems in our system, nothing constructive will resolve problems that include Excessive waiting time to see specialists. A lack of effective primary care. There is a lack of time spent with the patients who need it and appropriate reimbursement to doctors for that time. Large hospital systems that have increased their clinics called urgent care using one-size-fits-all solutions to our immediate healthcare needs and then send those who are ill into the medical merry-go-round in their systems. Fear-mongering patients through texts that fill their primary care doctors’ schedules with unnecessary visits to receive the next vaccine, drug, etc. makes it more difficult to get an appointment when you need one. Paying the highest prices for drugs in the world and prescribing too many to the American public instead of solving their problems and avoiding chronicity. Better feeding of the public with more farm-to-table food and less industrial produced products with less taste and less nutritional content. Restricted insurance networks and tiered plans manipulate patients and often make care less accessible and more expensive. Patients should have the ability to find and use the most effective providers who often are less costly. Increase competition in healthcare systems and break up the growing healthcare monopolies. Pass the Chiropractic Medicare Modernization Act which will offer full coverage for chiropractors under the plan instead of the current manipulation-only coverage left over from the early 1970’s Expand the definitions of primary care to include chiropractors and other classes of providers that patients may choose for their everyday healthcare needs. Eliminate expensive middlemen called insurance companies that have manipulated the market, and caused healthcare system consolidation we are all paying for in yearly insurance premiums. Consider expanding Medicare to allow younger patients to join a system that is less complicated, less costly, and has fewer claim denials. Eliminate the fear of not being covered for a life-threatening condition by an insurance company and the fight that later ensues to get a medically necessary bill paid. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. Reduce the cost of becoming a doctor. Patients should never have to worry that appropriate medical care should be covered, especially in an emergency. The task of reducing costs in our monstrosity of a system is enormous, however, offering single payor or a public option as we should have done at the onset of Obamacare would have kept the system more honest. Unfortunately, the Senate played politics, and the law would not have passed had Obama held out for it. While the law did create national rules for insurance, it also has not fulfilled the promise of removing discrimination of provider groups that would lower costs even though it was written into the law. It expanded Medicaid, a plan that offers basic coverage at starvation rates most providers refuse to participate with, including our offices. While many articles debate the reasons for our escalating costs, including the article below, it is important to consider that our system must be simple and uncomplicated, with costs that are sensible. Americans face challenges as health insurance costs rise and delays mount Health care is a social responsibility and our current system of employer-based care does not work for many of us. It destroys job mobility. If you have a serious illness, and cannot pay the premium, you become uninsured. Crazy no. The time has come to consider an expansion of Medicare which is scalable. We should rethink Medicare Advantage which has more denials and coverage inferior to Medicare. We need a social contract we can afford. Nobody should be denied care due to coverage, networks, etc. Everyone should have cradle-to-grave coverage in the richest country in the world. We should feed the public better food. We are Americans, we deserve better than capitalism which has failed us horribly in our current system.