In his Health Care Nation, health medical advisor Tom Lawry explains why the future is calling, and it’s better than you think.
Tom Lawry: Take charge of your healthcare.
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Summary
Tom Lawry, a healthcare transformation expert and author, discusses the dire state of the U.S. healthcare system and the urgent need for reform. He highlights how the system prioritizes profit over patient care, leaving millions uninsured or underinsured while driving up costs. Lawry argues for shifting from the “break-fix” model to a prevention-focused, universal healthcare approach. He calls for citizen mobilization, comparing the fight for healthcare reform to past civil rights movements. His upcoming book, Healthcare Nation, offers a hopeful vision for change.
Key Takeaways:
- The U.S. healthcare system is failing. Although it spends the most globally, it ranks poorly in outcomes, access, and equity.
- Profit-driven incentives distort care—insurance companies and hospitals maximize profits rather than ensure public well-being.
- Preventative care is severely underfunded—only 3% of spending goes to prevention, despite its potential to save lives and cut costs.
- Healthcare must be seen as a right. America is the only developed nation without universal healthcare, which leads to cost shifting and inequality.
- Grassroots activism is essential—true reform requires mass mobilization, much like past civil rights and labor movements.
Progressive Perspective
The American healthcare system is a manufactured crisis designed to funnel wealth into corporate hands while millions suffer. The real solution is not incremental reforms or band-aid fixes but a complete overhaul—a universal, publicly funded system prioritizing health over profits. Lawry’s call for citizen action is crucial; systemic change has never come from corporate-friendly politicians but from people demanding justice. The time for waiting is over—healthcare must be recognized as a fundamental right, and the movement to achieve it must be bold, uncompromising, and relentless.
Premium Content (Complimentary)
Tom Lawry, a leading healthcare transformation expert and bestselling author, recently shared his insights on reforming and improving the American healthcare system. His perspective, as highlighted in his upcoming book, Healthcare Nation: The Future is Calling and It’s Better Than You Think, is optimism and empowerment. Rather than resigning to the current system’s failures, Lawry urges citizens to mobilize and demand change, much like past civil rights and suffrage movements. Tom’s website is at www.healthcarenation.us.
The Crisis of the American Healthcare System
The American healthcare system is at a crossroads, and the data is damning. The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other developed nation—three times more, to be exact—yet it consistently ranks among the worst in terms of quality, outcomes, and access. Nearly half of Americans are either uninsured or underinsured, leaving millions vulnerable to financial ruin due to medical costs. Meanwhile, life expectancy is stagnating, chronic diseases are rampant, and racial disparities in healthcare persist.
Lawry and many progressive voices argue that the root cause is the for-profit nature of the system. The U.S. does not have a healthcare system designed to keep people well; instead, it operates under a “break-fix” model, where care is primarily administered only after individuals become sick. Preventative care and wellness initiatives receive a minuscule share of funding—only 3% of the staggering $4.7 trillion spent annually on healthcare.
This is by design. American healthcare incentives are structured around maximizing profits, not ensuring public well-being. Insurance companies, pharmaceutical corporations, and private hospital networks prioritize shareholder returns over patient health. The result? An inefficient, overpriced, and inequitable system that fails to serve the majority while enriching the few.
Reframing the Healthcare Debate: A Right, Not a Privilege
A key question that Lawry raises is whether Americans believe healthcare is a fundamental right. The United States remains the only developed nation where healthcare is not considered a universal right. Instead, it is treated as a commodity, accessible only to those who can afford it. This model inevitably leads to cost-shifting, where the uninsured delay treatment until their condition worsens, forcing hospitals to absorb losses and pass those costs onto insured patients. The result is skyrocketing premiums and an unsustainable system for individuals and businesses alike.
Lawry’s view aligns with a growing progressive consensus: healthcare should be treated as a public good, like education or infrastructure. The argument against privatized healthcare is not about rejecting capitalism entirely but recognizing that profit motives do not belong in life-and-death services. Countries adopting single-payer systems or strong public options, such as Canada and the UK, achieve better health outcomes at a fraction of the cost.
A Healthcare Utopia: Investing in Prevention and Holistic Care
When asked about his vision for the future, Lawry proposes a radical but practical reallocation of healthcare spending. Instead of pouring resources into expensive emergency treatments, the U.S. should invest heavily in prevention and wellness initiatives. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension—many of which are preventable through lifestyle interventions—consume nearly 27% of U.S. healthcare spending. A shift toward preventive care could save lives and drastically reduce overall costs.
Lawry also highlights the importance of addressing the social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and environmental policies. A person’s zip code is often a better predictor of health outcomes than their genetic code. Low-income communities, particularly communities of color, suffer disproportionately from health issues due to food deserts, pollution, and lack of access to medical care. If policymakers genuinely want to improve public health, they must tackle these underlying issues rather than treat symptoms.
We must transition to a single national risk pool. The current system relies on private insurers competing to manage risk, but their primary goal is profit, not public health. A universal risk pool, funded by a progressive tax structure, would eliminate administrative waste, negotiate lower drug prices, and ensure that all Americans receive necessary medical care.
A Rosa Parks Moment for Healthcare
Perhaps the most compelling part of Lawry’s argument is his call for grassroots activism. He draws parallels between the healthcare crisis and past civil rights struggles, urging Americans to take control of their health future. Just as Rosa Parks’ single act of defiance helped spark a movement, Lawry believes a similar moment of mass mobilization is needed to force systemic change in healthcare.
The time for waiting is over. Americans can no longer afford to depend on politicians beholden to corporate donors to fix the system. The push for universal healthcare must come from the people. Whether through union organizing, local activism, or national campaigns like Medicare for All, citizens must demand a system prioritizing health over profit.
Conclusion: The Future Is Better Than You Think—If We Fight for It
Lawry’s message is one of both urgency and hope. While the current trajectory of American healthcare is unsustainable, change is possible. By shifting the conversation away from industry-driven reform to citizen-led action, the U.S. can create a healthcare system that works for everyone.
The future of healthcare is not predetermined—it is shaped by collective action. If Americans mobilize, demand universal access, and insist on a system that values prevention and wellness, the nation can break free from the constraints of profit-driven medicine.
Healthcare reform is not just a policy debate but a moral imperative. The time for half-measures and corporate compromises is over. The choice is clear: either continue on a path of rising costs and worsening outcomes or embrace a new vision—one where healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
The future of American healthcare is indeed better than many think. But it will not arrive on its own—it must be fought for.