America Pays More to Die Sooner: Our Healthcare System Is Built to Fail
In a recent segment on The Robert Scott Bell Show, Robert tackled one of the most pressing issues facing the U.S.: the failing healthcare system. The segment was inspired by an article titled "Dead Last: Americans Pay the Most for Worst Health Outcomes, Study Finds," which highlights the grim findings from the Commonwealth Fund's "Mirror, Mirror 2024" report. This report places America at the bottom of the list when it comes to healthcare among advanced economies. Robert, never one to shy away from telling it like it is, broke down the report and delivered a blistering critique of the U.S. medical-industrial complex.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, Americans pay more for healthcare than any other nation but experience the worst health outcomes, with the shortest life expectancies and the most avoidable deaths among the ten advanced nations surveyed. Robert opened his monologue by bluntly summarizing the article: “We find ourselves, according to this article... dead last in what? Paying the most for the worst health outcomes among 10 advanced economies.” He doesn't mince words, expressing disbelief that the U.S. spends so much yet delivers so little for its citizens.
The Medical Monopoly
Robert draws attention to a critical point: the U.S. healthcare system isn't a free market. It’s a monopoly controlled by pharmaceutical companies, insurance giants, and government mandates, all of which stifle competition and limit patients' choices. He states, “There is no freedom in what we call a healthcare system in America... It's a limited form of competition within a monopoly.” This monopoly has been in place since the Flexner Report of 1910, which effectively shut down alternative medical schools and established allopathic medicine (modern Western medicine) as the dominant approach. Since then, Robert argues, Americans have been left with few options outside the pharmaceutical-driven model of healthcare.
Robert’s critique of the system goes beyond just healthcare access. He calls out the insurance industry as complicit in breaking the doctor-patient relationship. He points out that in the past, healthcare was a direct transaction between a patient and their doctor—a sacred relationship based on trust. Today, third-party payers, whether insurance companies or government programs, intervene and distort the market, driving up costs and complicating care. “The insurance industry corrupts the sacred relationship... that was considered normal,” he emphasizes.
The High Cost of Poor Health
Despite the high cost of healthcare in the U.S., the Commonwealth Fund’s report finds that Americans live shorter lives and experience more avoidable deaths than citizens in other advanced countries. Robert highlights this paradox: “We have the shortest lifespans and the most avoidable deaths despite paying more for healthcare.” The report points out that life expectancy in the U.S. is more than four years lower than the 10-country average, and the country has the highest rates of preventable deaths across all age groups.
Robert's frustration is palpable. He asks, if the U.S. is consistently ranking dead last in health outcomes, shouldn’t we look at what’s going wrong in the system? He urges Americans to rethink their approach to healthcare. “If you think you're the best and you end up dead last, what do you gotta do? You gotta figure out what is so disastrously wrong with what we’re doing,” he declares.
Freedom and Choice in Healthcare
One of the most significant points Robert makes is that America’s healthcare crisis is a crisis of freedom. He passionately argues that the lack of choice and the suppression of alternative medicine is a fundamental reason for the country’s poor health outcomes. “We don't have freedom to choose much in healthcare,” Robert asserts, pointing out that alternative practitioners like homeopaths, naturopaths, and herbalists are often marginalized or even criminalized under the current system.
Robert also ties this lack of freedom to the rise of chronic disease in the U.S. He argues that the pharmaceutical model of healthcare focuses on treating symptoms rather than addressing the root causes of disease, leading to more illnesses and higher healthcare costs. He insists that if Americans were free to explore alternative treatments, many would opt for natural remedies that focus on prevention rather than pharmaceuticals that manage symptoms. “The real purpose of a healer is to remind everyone of the source of all healing, which is our divinity... not pharmaceuticals,” Robert says.
The Food Factor
A significant portion of Robert's critique centers around America’s food system and how it contributes to the country’s poor health. He notes that the U.S. has long been enamored with "better living through chemistry," referencing the widespread use of pesticides, herbicides, and processed foods. “We’ve been raised on food devoid of vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals,” Robert says, pointing to how the industrialization of the food supply has led to nutrient-deficient diets that fuel chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
This toxic food environment, according to Robert, creates a vicious cycle where poor nutrition leads to chronic illness, which in turn fuels the pharmaceutical industry. Americans eat processed, nutrient-poor food and then turn to toxic pharmaceutical treatments to manage the inevitable health problems that follow. “The food is toxic, and guess what? The medicine that responds to the ailments and illnesses resulting from eating toxic food your whole life, the remedies are also toxic,” Robert laments.
What Needs to Change?
So, how does the U.S. healthcare system break out of this cycle of failure? Robert suggests that Americans need to re-examine their entire approach to health. He advocates for a return to personal responsibility, prevention, and natural medicine, urging listeners to take control of their health before it deteriorates.
“We've invested in toxicity,” Robert argues, noting that the U.S. has poured trillions into a healthcare system that is essentially designed to fail. Instead of continuing down this path, Robert encourages Americans to embrace a more holistic approach to health, one that includes better nutrition, more exercise, and fewer pharmaceutical interventions. “There is little to no freedom in a system that claims to be capitalistic,” Robert says, and he calls for real, meaningful healthcare reform that prioritizes freedom of choice and natural, preventive medicine.
Conclusion: America’s Healthcare Dilemma
Robert Scott Bell’s commentary on the Children’s Health Defense article is a passionate call to action. He doesn’t just critique the U.S. healthcare system—he offers a solution grounded in personal responsibility, freedom, and natural health. The Commonwealth Fund’s Mirror, Mirror 2024 report paints a damning picture of America’s healthcare failures, but Robert argues that the problem goes deeper than just inefficiency or high costs. The system is fundamentally flawed, designed to profit off disease rather than promote health.
As Robert sees it, the only way forward is to re-establish freedom in healthcare—freedom to choose alternative treatments, freedom to access natural remedies, and freedom to take charge of one’s health.