Okay, here we go. One of the more controversial topics that needs to be addressed: Healthcare, and how people get it. If you’re just now joining the rant, please check out the entire series in order:
Standard disclaimer: I am not a doctor, economist or sociologist. I just call it like I see it, having observed the clusterfuck that is end stage capitalism and the initiatives other countries have tried that are proving to be successful in fixing it. I’m just taking it a few steps further in the same direction.
Onwards!
Background Constants
As you read through the rest of this post, keep in mind that everything I say here is set against the background of these constants: Education at all levels is tuition-free for all students, and every citizen residing in the country receives a monthly Universal Basic Income. These are important, especially if you happen to currently live in a country with a failing healthcare system and can’t imagine how a better one would work.
Definitions
Healthcare: Anything to do with a person’s physical or psychological well-being. This includes the entire body (vision, hearing, and dental care, too) and the mind (psychological and psychiatric care, therapy, etc.)
Patient: The person who needs medical care. Not their spouse, not their parent/guardian, not the person who has been granted the power to make medical decisions for them. The actual person themselves.
Medical professional(s): The person or persons providing any aspect of care, including checkups, testing, imaging, consultations, procedures, etc. They must be licensed in their chosen field and maintain a good standing with the medical review board.
Medical review board: A committee of independent professionals who review and evaluate cases of malpractice and misconduct.
And now we can healthcare.
Health Insurance
Starting out strong. Health insurance is illegal. I don’t know what else to say on this. I think we can all agree that it achieves absolutely nothing for patients or doctors, other than leech more money from both and prevent people from getting the care they need. Begone!
Costs
Healthcare is taxed the least out of all the industries, with the caveat that any surplus profit is reinvested back into healthcare to provide better care and services to the patients. Having removed the barriers of an expensive education and price-gouging insurance companies, healthcare costs should be minimized.
Preventative care and basic primary care are free to patients. This includes check-ups, testing and screening, vaccinations, corrective lenses, hearing aids, dental cleaning, etc. It also includes initial consultations and regular checkups by specialists (ex: OBGYN, dermatology, cardiology, etc.). And, lest we forget, let’s also add in neurodivergence screening and mental health screenings, too.
The initial diagnosis is free. Everything after that is considered treatment and comes with an out-of-pocket cost. The costs for medical procedures and treatments will be capped, with the cumulative total not to exceed 10% of UBI annually. Once that cap is reached, all further treatments and procedures are free to the patient.
Access to Care
Medical facilities, including hospitals, urgent care centers, specialist practices, and primary care offices are operated as non-religious, nonprofit organizations, centering the best interest of the patient, regardless of their age, sex, gender identity, race, religion, political affiliation, or nationality. Care cannot be denied to anyone.
Procedures cannot be performed without the patient’s knowledge and/or consent. Where a patient cannot make medical decisions for themselves, and has no one to do it for them (or the person making medical decisions for the patient is deemed unfit) a social worker will be assigned power of attorney to ensure the patient’s best interests. (See additional details below in the section on Bodily Autonomy)
Medicine is practiced with a holistic approach and a goal of minimal invasion, keeping the patient’s best interest at the forefront. This includes both their physical and mental well-being. Treatments are tailored to the needs of the patient in order to provide the highest and best results with the least invasive option.
Surgery should not be used where effective, non-invasive treatments exist, but must be used where alternative treatments prolong pain and suffering unnecessarily.
Medicines
Pharmaceutical companies are operated as not-for-profit organizations. Pharmaceutical patents cannot be held for longer than a period of one year. After they expire, anyone anywhere can manufacture the drug and/or alter the formula as needed. Patents cannot be awarded for cures for chronic diseases, or treatments for life-threatening, fast-spreading (pandemic) infections.
Medicines must be fully researched and tested on a broad range of subjects to account for as many variables as possible. Minimum requirements for pharmaceutical studies are an even spread of 50% male and 50% female patients across a spectrum of age ranges and ethnicities.
Direct sales create a conflict of interest. As such, marketing directly to medical professionals or bribing them to prescribe certain products is illegal. All medicines are described and marketed in designated encyclopedias for comprehensive reference and are prescribed based on which one is most likely to yield the desired result for the patient while minimizing side effects.
Medical and pharmaceutical research is funded by the government and excess corporate profits.
Bodily Autonomy
Bodily autonomy is the most basic natural right of every person born, who can survive independently (i.e. outside of the womb) either naturally or with artificial assistance. An unborn fetus that cannot survive with the assistance of an incubator outside of the womb does not meet the requirements to be granted bodily autonomy, and is therefore considered a part of the person carrying it.
Bodily autonomy means that a person cannot be subjected to any act, treatment or procedure upon their person without their full, informed consent, and no part of their person can be used or removed to benefit someone else without the person’s full, informed consent. This includes organ transplants, blood donation, and pregnancy. In addition, in the context of medicine, a person cannot be denied elective treatments or procedures for any reason. This includes cosmetic procedures, gender-affirming care, surgical contraception, and assisted end-of-life care (assisted suicide), as long as the patient is evaluated and found to be of sound mind and free of coercion.
All medical professionals are morally and legally bound to always act in the best interest of the patient, unless the patient themselves instructs them otherwise. If a medical professional suspects that a patient is being coerced into or out of a treatment or procedure against their will, they must engage a social worker to investigate the situation and protect the patient’s bodily autonomy.
A Special Note on Family Planning
Forced pregnancy and forced birth violate a person’s bodily autonomy and are therefore illegal. Access to all birth control is free and available to everyone at any age for any reason, no questions asked, and no parental consent needed.
Abortion is also free and available to anyone for any reason, until the point where the fetus can reasonably survive outside of the womb, at which point, the fetus gains bodily autonomy and, if needed or requested, can be removed from the womb to incubate to term independently.
In addition, for the health and safety of the patient, abortion is required by default for any pregnant person younger than 16 years of age, except in extreme cases where the pregnant person is evaluated and deemed physically, mentally, and emotionally fit to carry to term—and they request to do so, independently and without coercion. Regardless, the pregnancy must be investigated by law and prosecuted as statutory rape and child abuse.
I also want to address another topic here, which is technically a legal matter, but since it has to do with family planning and the physical and emotional health and safety of a minor, I am including it under the heading of preventative healthcare. Sex with a minor and marriage to a minor is illegal, no exceptions. The legal age of consent is 16 where the age difference with the older partner is no more than 2 years. Legal age of consent is 18 where the age difference with the older partner is over 2 years. Legal age for marriage is 20, regardless of parental consent. No exceptions.
Still with me?
I figure I probably lost a few folks with that last section. That’s fine. If you’re still here, thanks for falling down this rabbit hole with me. I still have a long way to go and several more posts planned out. I had something else on the schedule for my post after this, but I think the most logical follow-up here is Crime, Punishment, and Peacekeeping. That’ll be a decent enough transition into the larger societal lens.
Until next time!