America's Healthcare Policies are Policies of Social Murder

Public policies that lead to the premature death of the citizen, is a policy of social murder.

The American healthcare system is often touted as one of the best in the world, however, in reality, it is a deeply flawed system that has resulted in the needless deaths of tens of thousands of our fellow citizens each year. This is due in large part to America's public policy towards healthcare, which prioritizes profits over people.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, over 68,000 people die in the United States each year because they cannot afford healthcare. These deaths are preventable, and yet they continue to occur because lawmakers are more concerned with protecting the interests of the Medical Industrial Complex than ensuring that all Americans have access to quality healthcare.

Consider the following from the Commonwealth Fund January 31st, 2023 issue brief: U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes.

• The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates.

• Americans see physicians less often than people in most other countries and have among the lowest rate of practicing physicians and hospital beds per 1,000 population.

Also consider this from the Council for Informed Drug Spending Analysis publication, November 18th, 2020, High Drug Prices and Patient Costs: Millions of Lives and Billions of Dollars Lost:

• 112,000 seniors each year could die prematurely because drug prices and associated cost-sharing are so high that they cannot afford their medication.

• Because high drug prices and patient costs mean seniors cannot afford their medications, Medicare is projected to spend an additional $17.7 billion annually on avoidable medical spending because of health complications.

• Medicare negotiation is projected to reduce drug prices and seniors' cost-sharing, which could prevent nearly 94,000 seniors’ deaths annually and save $475.9 billion.

Social murder is a term coined by Frederick Engels, a German philosopher, and socialist, to describe the indirect but systematic ways in which the ruling class in capitalist societies contributes to the premature death of the working class. Engels used the term in his book "The Condition of the Working Class in England," published in 1845, in which he documented the appalling living and working conditions of the working-class people in Manchester, England during the Industrial Revolution.

When one individual inflicts bodily injury upon another such that death results, we call the deed manslaughter; when the assailant knew in advance that the injury would be fatal, we call his deed murder. But when society ^[1] places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death, one which is quite as much a death by violence as that by the sword or bullet; when it deprives thousands of the necessaries of life, places them under conditions in which they cannot live – forces them, through the strong arm of the law, to remain in such conditions until that death ensues which is the inevitable consequence – knows that these thousands of victims must perish, and yet permits these conditions to remain, its deed is murder just as surely as the deed of the single individual; disguised, malicious murder, murder against which none can defend himself, which does not seem what it is, because no man sees the murderer, because the death of the victim seems a natural one, since the offence is more one of omission than of commission. But murder it remains.

In other words, public policies that lead to the premature death of the citizen, is a policy of social murder.

By failing to provide adequate healthcare to all citizens, the government is essentially condemning tens of thousands of people to premature death every year. This is not an accident or an oversight; it is a deliberate policy choice that has been made by those in power.

The fact that this policy continues to exist in the United States is a shameful indictment of our society. We like to think of ourselves as a nation that values life and freedom, but in reality, we are a nation that values profit above all else. We are willing to let tens of thousands of our fellow citizens die each year, simply because we refuse to invest in a healthcare system that puts people first.

Despite being the wealthiest nation on earth, the United States continues to lag behind other developed countries in terms of healthcare outcomes. Over 45,000 of my fellow Americans die each year simply because they cannot afford healthcare. This is a staggering number, and it begs the question: who is responsible for these deaths?

The answer, unfortunately, is not a simple one. While many factors contribute to the dysfunction of the American healthcare system, one cannot ignore the role of public policy in perpetuating this crisis. Lawmakers at every level of government have a responsibility to ensure that their constituents have access to basic healthcare services. When they fail to do so, they are complicit in the social murder of their fellow citizens.

But what does it mean to be complicit in social murder?

Essentially, it means that individuals who continue to vote for politicians that enact legislation leading to the premature death of their fellow citizens are actively contributing to a system that values profit over human life. By voting for politicians who prioritize corporate interests over the health of their constituents, individuals are essentially saying that they are willing to sacrifice the lives of others for the sake of their financial gain.

This is a deeply troubling phenomenon, and it must be addressed if we are to create a more just and equitable society. By converting the current for-profit healthcare system to a single-payer healthcare system, we can begin to dismantle the systems that perpetuate social murder and prioritize the health and well-being of all citizens, not just the wealthy who can afford it.

It is time for individuals to take responsibility for their role in perpetuating this crisis.

Let us no longer be willing to be complicit in the social murder of our fellow citizens any longer. It is time for a change, and it is up to us to make it happen.

We cannot continue to allow our government to prioritize the profits of the healthcare industry over the lives of our fellow citizens. We must demand that our lawmakers take action to ensure that every American has access to quality healthcare, regardless of income or social status.

The American healthcare system, along with America's public policy in healthcare, is essentially a policy of social murder. We cannot sit idly by while tens of thousands of our fellow citizens die each year, simply because they cannot afford healthcare. It is time for us to demand change and hold our lawmakers accountable for their actions.

The lives of our fellow citizens depend on it.