by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
The confidence that there will always be facilities and professionals to care for us is no longer realistic.
I’ve covered the systemic problems of U.S. healthcare for over a decade, and as a result I’ve attracted numerous healthcare professionals as correspondents. I’ve been corresponding with some for almost 15 years, and this correspondence has given me a sobering education in the realities of our fully financialized (and thus hollowed-out) healthcare system. I’ve shared many of the professionals’ insights over the years, for example:
Can “Sickcare” Survive the Pandemic? (April 14, 2020)
Like the rest of the financialization machine, sickcare was never sustainable.
The hollowing out of financialization has been accelerating for over a decade. In effect, there are two tiers of healthcare: the “sickcare” system managed by profiteering, predatory, parastic corporations and their non-healthcare managers/shareholders who are seeking the $30 million payday, the $300 million payday or the $3 billion payday.