KevinMD January 18, 2026
John C. Hagan III, MD

United States (U.S.) health care, once a citadel of innovation and quality, has sadly devolved into a complex, frustrating, and frequently inaccessible system. It is so disorganized and inefficient it might not even meet the definition of a “system.” U.S. health care fails to address the needs and expectations of patients on many occasions and in many ways. For most of my career, I have considered U.S. health care the best in the world. Now I think not. This distressing editorial enumerates the challenges and failures of a system that is increasingly unacceptable to patients and their physicians. What the U.S. health care system excels at is generating massive profits for hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, trial lawyers, and Medicare fraudsters.

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Topics: Healthcare System, Patient / Consumer, Physician, Provider
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