Burning Beneath

Today, I went to pick up my prescriptions from the same pharmacy I’ve been using for over 13 years. Normally, they charge my card directly for any balance I owe, but this time was different. Even after removing some medications from my order, I was still hit with an unexpected cost—an additional $80 out of pocket. This was on top of my private health insurance coverage, which I had assumed would absorb more of the expense.

It was a moment of shock.

In a country where healthcare is supposedly “free,” prescriptions remain an out-of-pocket expense, forcing many of us to turn to private insurance. Yet, even with this added coverage, the costs remain steep. It makes me wonder: How is this fair to hardworking people? When did healthcare stop being about humanity and become a business?

The pharmaceutical industry thrives on dependency. Medications aren’t designed to cure—they manage symptoms, keeping us on a lifelong cycle of prescriptions. It’s a cash cow, feeding profits into corporate pockets while leaving individuals financially and physically trapped. And that realization led me to a deeper question:

If these medications aren’t healing me, what will?

That single thought sent me spiraling into a new determination. If I want to break free from this system, I need to understand the root causes of my health issues. I need to research alternative paths—natural remedies, ancestral knowledge, and holistic approaches to healing.

I don’t have all the answers yet. But what I do know is that this issue demands scrutiny—not just from governments and policymakers but from us, the people.

Health is not a privilege. It is a right.

And if the system isn’t designed to heal us, then maybe it’s time we take healing into our own hands.