Building Compassionate Systems

Here’s the opinion of Monica Maalouf, MD, an Internal Medicine Specialist in Maywood, IL. She is affiliated with medical facilities Loyola University Medical Center and Macneal Hospital.

I happen to know a doctor who told me that he dreads the notion of universal healthcare on the basis that he’d make less money, which I found weird, putting it kindly.  First of all, I can’t imagine how that’s possible.  More to the point, you have to wonder why someone who ostensibly believes in the Hippocratic Oath would admit to being unconcerned about the health of tens of millions of Americans.

Having said that, he’s (thankfully) a rare individual.  From this article in 2018:

Sixty-eight percent (of 2500+ physicians surveyed) said they supported — with 52% strongly supporting — the United States moving to single-payer healthcare, while 21% said they strongly opposed such a move.

That certainly jibes with our intuition; what type of highly educated professional believes poor people should suffer and die of treatable diseases?

“Compassionate systems,” of course, is a superset of universal healthcare, running, as it does, into free education, housing, nutrition, environmental responsibility, and social justice.

Great to see a bright young doctor taking a stand for the common American.