"The Insurance Game is Rigged."

     Nothing ignites the fires of unity amongst healthcare professionals and their patients like this herald statement: health insurance is a joke! Both groups have their obvious reasons as to why they feel this way, and they tend to merge where our moral compasses meet. Arguing that health insurance is unethical often stems from the belief that it commodifies health. Simply put, it has created a system where financial interests outweigh patient welfare. Here are several key observations to support this argument—several of which inspired the jetMED concept: 

1. Access to Healthcare as a Fundamental Right: If we view healthcare as a basic human right, it should be accessible to everyone, regardless of financial status. Health insurance systems create barriers to care, as individuals must pay premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, making access to necessary treatments and medications dependent on economic status rather than need. This undermines the ethical principle that all people deserve equitable access to care.
2. Profit Motive Over Patient Welfare: Health insurance companies operate as "for-profit" entities, prioritizing shareholder interests and profit margins over patient well-being. This profit motive can lead to practices such as denying claims, limiting coverage, and excluding individuals with pre-existing conditions, effectively placing corporate profit above patients’ health needs. Who is taking care of who here?
3. Moral Hazard and Exclusion: Health insurers often incentivize exclusionary practices, where companies can selectively cover or charge higher rates for those deemed “high-risk” due to pre-existing conditions or age. These exclusions disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including the elderly and chronically ill, creating a two-tiered system where some people can access high-quality care while others are left without options. 
4. Patient Burden and Medical Debt: Even with insurance, many people still face high out-of-pocket costs, leading to significant medical debt. In a system that was initially designed to protect folks against financial hardship, it’s paradoxical that the health insurance model itself can plunge individuals into financial ruin, raising ethical questions about its fairness and purpose. 
5. Focus on Cost Over Health Outcomes: Health insurance models often push for the lowest-cost treatment rather than the best patient-centered option. This focus on cost-cutting can result in the under-treatment of patients or reliance on cheaper, less effective interventions, diminishing the quality of care that individuals receive. This approach places the economic concerns of insurance providers over ethical commitments to beneficence, or the duty to act in a patients’ best interests. 

     We argue that health insurance, in its current form, perpetuates a fundamentally flawed system where individuals’ health outcomes and financial security are subordinated to the interests of private corporations. In this view, ethical healthcare should prioritize accessibility, equity, and the intrinsic value of human health over profit, suggesting a need for reform—or, even replacement—of traditional health insurance with systems designed to prioritize human well-being.

     jetMED is playing a different game. We don't have all the answers, but we do offer solutions. We believe in a transparent alternative to insurance that is both simple and affordable. We offer a quality solution to patients for several common illnesses, and we deliver that concept conveniently through an innovative platform. In keeping with our medical oath and duty to inform and educate the public, we have integrated up-to-date treatment guidelines and principles of antibiotic stewardship into our platform, providing patients with a pathway to avoid unnecessary appointments and fees through our symptom-checkers. This allows our patients to leverage technology to their advantage at no cost, while also providing those who would benefit from virtual assessment and treatment with a quick, efficient, and cost-effective pathway. It might not be THE solution, but we think it's a pretty good one, and so do our patients.

     Thank you readers! We also wish to extend our sincere appreciation, as always, to our most precious resource: our patients. It is an honor to serve you, and we thank you for the trust you place in us each day. You deserve nothing but our very best.

Yours in Health,

-Your jetMED Team