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rynling* deep breath *
Getting any sort of medical degree in the United States is prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of the population, and the current system of medical education is deliberately designed to be harsh and unforgiving no matter what your intended specialty. The financial and emotional cost of medical education therefore tends to exclude people from all but the most privileged backgrounds. Additional capital is needed for medical residencies, private practices, and the leasing fees for medical groups. Some subsidies are available, but dozens of ludicrously well-funded lobbyist groups ensure that most of the medical aid granted by the United States goes overseas, usually with the military.
Because of the high costs of maintaining a medical practice outside of a major university hospital or a major pharmaceutical corporation, it is not in the best interests of most medical professionals to accept insurance, as multiple specialist employees are generally needed to manage insurance claims. In fact, medical insurance is usually only accepted by large medical groups that privately contract individual practitioners, often at considerable cost to the practitioner. What this means is that independent practitioners who operate outside of corporations and university hospitals usually do not accept insurance.
Many independent practitioners, especially those outside of urban areas, are able to maintain their practices only because they accept various handouts from pharmaceutical companies, who send agents to negotiate matters like assistance with loan repayments in exchange for prescription quotas. While psychiatrists may benefit from this type of negotiation, most professional therapists do not, nor do professional social workers. Both hospitals and medical groups therefore limit the number of therapists and social workers on staff, as their inability to prescribe medication causes them to be seen (correctly) as financial liabilities.
In other words, therapy is either expensive for the institution, expensive for therapist, or expensive for the patient. Because therapy is expensive for institutions, there is a critical shortage of therapists within medical systems that accept insurance. Because therapy is expensive for private practitioners, these practitioners tend to cut costs by not accepting insurance. Therapy is therefore only realistically available to people who can either deal with being on an indeterminately long wait list of someone who accepts insurance, to people who can bypass this wait list, or to people who can afford to seek treatment outside of their insurance network.
It is possible to find a good therapist, but this can sometimes take years. The less privileged you are, the longer it tends to take to navigate the medical system. In addition, the tendency of therapists to come from incredibly privileged backgrounds means that it is often difficult for people from less privileged backgrounds to find a therapist who is capable of providing effective treatment.
Healthcare that is only available to the privileged is eugenics, plain and simple.
Therefore, if someone says something to the effect of “you should consider therapy” when you come to them to ask for help, understanding, or accommodations, they are putting the burden of responsibility for fixing a problem on your shoulders, all the while knowing that this is a burden you cannot possibly bear on your own.
This is evil, and you are well within your rights to tell them to get fucked.
Getting any sort of medical degree in the United States is prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of the population, and the current system of medical education is deliberately designed to be harsh and unforgiving no matter what your intended specialty. The financial and emotional cost of medical education therefore tends to exclude people from all but the most privileged backgrounds. Additional capital is needed for medical residencies, private practices, and the leasing fees for medical groups. Some subsidies are available, but dozens of ludicrously well-funded lobbyist groups ensure that most of the medical aid granted by the United States goes overseas, usually with the military.
Because of the high costs of maintaining a medical practice outside of a major university hospital or a major pharmaceutical corporation, it is not in the best interests of most medical professionals to accept insurance, as multiple specialist employees are generally needed to manage insurance claims. In fact, medical insurance is usually only accepted by large medical groups that privately contract individual practitioners, often at considerable cost to the practitioner. What this means is that independent practitioners who operate outside of corporations and university hospitals usually do not accept insurance.
Many independent practitioners, especially those outside of urban areas, are able to maintain their practices only because they accept various handouts from pharmaceutical companies, who send agents to negotiate matters like assistance with loan repayments in exchange for prescription quotas. While psychiatrists may benefit from this type of negotiation, most professional therapists do not, nor do professional social workers. Both hospitals and medical groups therefore limit the number of therapists and social workers on staff, as their inability to prescribe medication causes them to be seen (correctly) as financial liabilities.
In other words, therapy is either expensive for the institution, expensive for therapist, or expensive for the patient. Because therapy is expensive for institutions, there is a critical shortage of therapists within medical systems that accept insurance. Because therapy is expensive for private practitioners, these practitioners tend to cut costs by not accepting insurance. Therapy is therefore only realistically available to people who can either deal with being on an indeterminately long wait list of someone who accepts insurance, to people who can bypass this wait list, or to people who can afford to seek treatment outside of their insurance network.
It is possible to find a good therapist, but this can sometimes take years. The less privileged you are, the longer it tends to take to navigate the medical system. In addition, the tendency of therapists to come from incredibly privileged backgrounds means that it is often difficult for people from less privileged backgrounds to find a therapist who is capable of providing effective treatment.
Healthcare that is only available to the privileged is eugenics, plain and simple.
Therefore, if someone says something to the effect of “you should consider therapy” when you come to them to ask for help, understanding, or accommodations, they are putting the burden of responsibility for fixing a problem on your shoulders, all the while knowing that this is a burden you cannot possibly bear on your own.
This is evil, and you are well within your rights to tell them to get fucked.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-09 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-02-14 11:20 pm (UTC)A lot of people on social media have celebrated the UK's National Health Service as an alternative to how broken the US's medical system is, but apparently the NHS is openly hostile to the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. The more I read about the specifics of the political context of JK Rowling's transphobia, the more I'm like, "Wow! What an actual terrible person!!"
But the US medical system isn't particularly kind to LGBTQ+ communities either, and it's kind of horrifying how I can write this long-ass post without even beginning to address the consequences of intersectional issues like ethnicity and gender.
I think one of the main reasons I'm so fascinated by time travel stories is that I would personally like to travel thirty or forty years into the future, when either we as a society have moved past this nonsense or methane emissions from fracking have already destroyed the environment and thereby given me one less thing to worry about.
In the end, as much as I bitch and moan about Tumblr, I appreciate that people have used it as a platform to build supportive communities that focus on mental health issues. These communities may not be perfect, but they're still a hell of a lot more accessible than therapy.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-22 06:33 pm (UTC)> I would personally like to travel thirty or forty years into the future, when either we as a society have moved past this nonsense or methane emissions from fracking have already destroyed the environment and thereby given me one less thing to worry about.
IF ONLY D:
Also, speaking of UK-specific fuckery, I'm not sure if you're familiar with Rowan Ellis on Youtube, but she does a lot of queer video essays and talks multiple times about how poorly the UK deals with LGBTQ+ anything, which WOW IT'S FUCKED UP. Figured I'd pass that along in case you were interested!