With $38 trillion in national debt (U.S. Debt Clock), and well over $2 trillion in deficit spending each year, our government is beholden to corporate and financial interests that profit from sickness, not health. We spend twice as much per capita on healthcare as any other industrialized nation (OECD, 2023), yet we are the sickest among them (Commonwealth Fund, 2023).
Nowhere is this more evident than in cancer treatment, which has become a $200 billion industry (Global Oncology Trends, IQVIA, 2023). Instead of addressing root causes—environmental toxins, ultra-processed foods, diet, and lifestyle—the system prioritizes costly treatments that generate perpetual revenue. Cancer is no longer just a disease; it’s a growth business for big pharma, hospitals, and insurance companies. We see efforts by the current HHS administration to get to the bottom of this human exploitation and we fully support that effort. The focus need to be on identifying root causes, so we can begin the journey or reversing these appalling trends.
We The People- our bodies, minds, and spirit- must never be sacrificed for the medical industrial complex’s growth and revenue ambitions. Sadly, it has come to that. We are the product, the guinea pigs. The doctor-patient relationship has been hijacked.
Balanced budgets- which we once took seriously- place guardrails upon the darker side of human nature, forcing accountability and rational decision-making. This is how we kept the greed instinct in check until the 1980s. But when there are no fiscal constraints- when credit can be issued with seeming impunity- then corruption, inefficiency, and greed thrive. Such has been the case in the U.S. for decades. Debt (or credit) fuels industries that benefit from prolonging problems rather than solving them—whether in healthcare, education, or national security. Until we stop borrowing to fund a system built on perverse incentives, Americans will remain overmedicated, overbilled, and underserved. A healthy nation starts with financial integrity, not endless debt and deficits. If one thinks of Bedford Falls (It’s a Wonderful Life) as a symbol of a healthy community, then we have entered Pottersville.
How sick are we? One answer is: $38 trillion sick, based on the national debt. Perhaps the madness has not sunk in yet, and perhaps the plates can be kept spinning in the air for a while longer. With each passing day, however, we suffer a little bit more. We treat Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a key measure of our economic health. A very simple and honest look at GDP reveals two major red flags: 1) at least $2 trillion of this annual GDP is directly attributable to deficit spending; and 2) nearly $5 trillion is spent each year chasing after chronic disease that barely existed 40 years ago. That is Sick Care, not healthcare. At AHR we will seek to inspire wellness for all, without compromise.
While we cannot and will not make stock market predictions (there are also many positives about the investment landscape), there is a collision ahead between material wealth and human health. What path will we choose?
