In their production lines

We the human patients

Are their raw materials

That goes through their grinds.

And this is the way they designed

Their systems

And their avenues

So that they are able to find

And secure

Their profits and their revenues,

At the cost of their victims

Who have to painfully endure

Their treacherous schemes

Of exploitation and plunder.

But they present themselves under

The disguise of benevolence

With the slogan of excellence

And in the name of healthcare.

 

It is the business

The model for which is rare

Amongst all other advanced countries.

But here it is sold

And we are usually told

How good it is.

 

Nothing could be farther from the truth

Although it is marketed as

Very sleek and very smooth.

But you only find that out

When something goes wrong,

Until then the façade is too strong

To hold up an image of caring.

 

Then when facing a severe illness

You see the ugliness

Of their business,

And it becomes the time for your learning

And for the rude awakening.

You are nothing but a commodity

That is now costing their bottom-line,

So they start acting

Not so pretty

Holding some unwelcome signs.

All kinds of barriers and denials

Become their bibles and their rituals.

Now you are in a spin

Don’t know where to go or lean

And how to handle or get out.

They have their experts

Who practice their arts

Of defeating you

As an unwanted and broken part

In their production line

Costing them money

And slowing them down.

So you can’t expect

To get any respect

Or even any break

And may find yourself

Just going around and around.

 

You may or may not recover

From your actual illness

As there may or may not be a cure

But they will make sure

That they will not cover

To the extent that is possible.

And their slogan will become

That you are the one who is responsible,

So that you will continue to suffer

From the financial ordeal.

The true picture now revealed

Which will steal

Any kind of happiness

And your life may come to

Another kind of miserable standstill.

 

You may go broke

Or bankrupt

Or even get a second heart attack

Or a stroke

Just from the stress,

This system most likely will not

Leave you with anything less.

 

As long as you are healthy

You are a sweet customer

Paying the premiums

And costing them the minimum,

Oiling their machines and their rollers

Moving their grind mill.

But as soon as you are ill

You send a chill

To their system

And then they try to shrink

Away from you.

But they never forget

To send their monster bills

And for sure they will show up

When they are due.

 

This is how they kill

Your peace of mind,

This is how they design

Their tricks of confusion and fear –

Deductibles, co-pays and all other deceptive gears

Which only they know how to operate and steer.

A system that is covertly corrupt

And morally bankrupt

But poses itself to be great,

Charging you as they wish

Not even disclosing beforehand,

Unlike any other business

It is even hard to understand

How this is allowed.

Gouging the population

But still able to hide

Under their deceptive shroud.

A carefully designed craft

To make money

Using people’s health

When they may be the most vulnerable

And usually are not able

To afford or to figure out

The exits or the routs.

 

A bigger crime

Is the way they plan and design

And then stand in line

Blocking and opposing

Any better alternatives

That may be coming or developing.

Big money and lobbyists

Acting like their priests

Carry on their duties

To make sure that any reform

Does not come in such a form

That their model would be disturbed,

Making sure their profits

Are protected and served.

 

They hire the doctors

To steer and operate

Telling them superficially

That they are so great

And that they will keep

Their business and medicine separate,

So that the doctors

Would have the freedom to make

Their medical decisions.

But from behind the curtain

They pull all the strings

In their own deceptive fashions

And always make certain

That their production line

Gets the priority

Regardless of what the doctors may think

Would be their ethical duty.

When and if some of the doctors complain

They would come to them

With all kinds of blames

And would try to remove

Or otherwise punish,

The brutality of this business

Would unleash.

So doctors tend to remain silent,

Their income

And their concern

About their professional safety

Keep them mute,

As they are subdued

By this machine

That continues to churn

And may usually burn

Any sense of real loyalty

That was due

To their patients

Who usually don’t know or learn

This kind of ugly nitty-gritty.

 

This is the state of this business –

Any actual sense of care

Lost in the production lines,

Severely bloated inside

And inherently mean

Which it tries to hide

And tries to pretend as lean.

The population is the ultimate loser

Who are stuck as the reluctant user

Of this monstrous and ruthless abuser

That hides its evils

In the name of caring.

No other business would be allowed

To be so much cunning

Or so much daring.

By –

Kris Mojag

Written in a quiet November night with not so quiet thoughts about this broken healthcare system, in 2021 – from the perspective of someone with some inside knowledge and also from that of a consumer.