BY: CLAIRE KIM
Just yesterday, I got my wisdom teeth pulled out at my dentist’s office and came across the receipts of my surgery on accident. Without insurance, my surgery cost around $800 – 1K which kind of angered me as I thought such costs were not worth the procedure. Looking at the formidable numbers and comparing it to my 15-minute surgery I wondered how our society has grown to accept such costs as reasonable because in my eyes it doesn’t seem fair at all. Yes, it is a surgery and yes it is done by a professional but how can this demand be a universal cost when it doesn’t match the average income one makes annually. It’s already hard enough to pay rent and other housing bills, so why make healthcare so burdensome as well? The problem with these costs come with two reasons: it is both unreasonable concerning the process that is done and scrapes income away from those in the lower tier of society. As I have mentioned before, surgeries from a small to large extent are always charged with inflated prices. From small examination periods to x-ray sessions, to the actual surgery itself, and the medicine that comes with it, this entire process gains so much income that patients are left anxious with how much money is leaving their pockets from the onset. Health insurance can only cover a certain amount of payment each year which makes it hard for patients to attend health care services regularly even if they want or need to. Even worse, health insurance itself is so expensive which hinders the overall intention of going to the hospital to get checked up. Everyone deserves universal health benefits and opportunities as one’s health plays a major part in enduring a sufficient lifestyle. Additionally, with so much money entering the medical field, we are enriching the Gatsby Curve of our society at a faster rate as the poverty line extends into the middle class and the top 1% of the country gains more than half the country’s income. This is not fair capitalism at all.
claire kim. 