Why government should abolish insurance companies: A nurse narrates her horrible experiences of US health care

The current health system cares of dollars  than the disease.

I'm a nurse at a regional level 1 trauma center in the United States. This will probably get buried, but here goes...

I have seen several dozen infections caused by foley catheters and ostomy bags and other appliances that are only paid for once a month or less by an insurance company. They are so stingy that they will only pay for so few appliances. This causes the patient's to have dirty appliances that cause infections. These infections of course cost the insurance company money, however they still save more money than they lose so they keep the policy in place.

I have seen a man choose to have his partial fingers sewn closed because having them reattached would only cover part of the cost and he couldn't afford the lions share.

I have seen hundreds of psych patients come in off their meds, suicidal/homicidal. We transfer them to the psychiatric center for evaluation. Government psychiatric centers in this country are too understaffed, or have no space/funding to care for them. These psych patients then get churned right back out when they should be admitted for extended care or support programs. They get turned back out instead of having a government program to facilitate the medications that some of them even have court orders to take.

Unstable psych patients are turned out due to lack of space/funding

I have had an unstable psych patient come in, get sent to the psychiatric center where they are turned out due to lack of space/funding and come back in within 24hrs with the police for escalating and lashing out. I have seen a couple get brought back in after public disturbance/threat to themselves/ others OUTSIDE of the psychiatric center after being discharged because there is no room/funding for them.

I have seen two psych instances of patients continually turned back to the streets after being brought in by police and eventually go out and assault someone due to their paranoia/psychosis. One nearly killed an innocent bystander because they thought the bystander was spying on them for the CIA.

I have seen HUNDREDS of patients come in seeking medications they cannot afford day after day after day because the emergency department by law has to treat them, which includes giving them the medications they need but cannot afford.

I have seen patients come in suicidal because they cannot afford the care they need to ease their suffering and their insurance policy has reached its limit.

A few of patients are deceived by their insurance companies

A few of these patients come in deceived by their insurance companies that they don't need care because it is excessive and the physicians are executing a money grab, when really the insurance company knew they would get approval in their policy agreement.

Most of these people suffer because they don't have enough money for the corporations to turn a profit off of them.

I have been a nurse for only two years and I have witnessed all of these things and more as a result of our corrupt failure of a healthcare system.

This will not end until we have an economic political revolution in this country because our representatives are on the boards and in the pockets of those who profit off of all of this suffering. We take the collateral blame for this suffering. Our inaction in creating change in our government is killing people. Take that how you will, I continue to watch needless death and the blood is on our hands.