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Rhetorical Analysis on Health Insurance Andres Rodriguez University of Texas at El Paso

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English 1311 HEALTH INSURANCE Rhetorical analysis on Health Insurance Health insurance is an entity that is a convenience to have if the unfortunate looming bad luck decides to strike. It can cover a large portion of medical bills, and other minor surgeries. However recently it has been notoriously known as a lurking school yard bully forcing money out of you and trying to psychologically convince you its for your well being. Increasing premiums and forcing low income families to fill the abyss of debt caused by a quickly declining economy. Steven Brill, a Yale graduate and Time magazine journalist is well known for tackling controversial topics and raises more, but fundamental questions we should be asking ourselves. In 2013 he released his article Bitter Pill, it is currently the longest article Time magazine has published, and this is primarily due to the extensive content it contains. The Ethos behind Brills Bitter Pill doesnt earn its credibility because of the vast knowledge Brill has on the topic or because hes a medical doctor. He admittedly said he knows very little, but was determined to really get in depth with it in an interview with Charlie Rose. His credibility is gained by the fact that along with being an accomplished journalist with many years of experience, hes an average everyday person. He deals with the highs and lows everyone does with these insurance premiums and as a father of three children he understands how vital it is to have money set aside for any medical emergency. His reasonable straight forward thinking is what makes this seemingly abstract topic something everybody can process and weigh-in on. Over a span of seven months he traced multiple cases from patients (with their consent) back to

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the original source and found that it became a frequent occurrence that hospital administrators and pharmaceutical companies are making millions. The logic Brill uses is one that is supported by afore mentioned extensive research, tracing as many as eight different bills and tracing them to who is profiting in what way and if anyone is profiting excessively. By tracing such things and physically handling the charge master of hospitals, and critically dismantling this enormous list of prices hospitals charge, he built a solid foundation of support. He then continued on to elaborate on how this directly affected the market, considering health care is built much like a monopoly. As pointed out by Brill Obamacare would only fuel this issue by increasing the size of people contributing to this market, and not necessarily making it affordable as promised. The pharmacy companies are in no way being hindered by price limiting policies, because there are none being implemented by Obamacare. Brill knows this will spark controversy and uses this information throughout his article to show the bigger picture and how everything connects in one way or another. Brill makes it a very level playing field, his decisions are unbiased. He states only facts found through the research he made. Unsurprisingly the equilibrium was quickly unbalanced when he shed light on the secrets found in the fine print on policies otherwise illegible to any regular citizen due to the fact that bills and much of the policies are double coded in such a way only the hospital can decipher. This makes his argument a strong one, and one that can develop a well rounded perspective on the topic. Brill uses pathos in a very broad way that can encompass everyone. In a video broaching the topic of the article Brill states You dont get health care, you dont wake up in the morning and say gee, Id really like to go to the emergency room today you enter that market unwillingly (Brill, 2013) it gives the viewer a feeling of entrapment. It then raises the most

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important and primary question, why is health insurance so expensive? Its this emotional domino effect that creates a sense of urgency to shine a light on the issue. Steven Brill does an outstanding job by being able to provide and portray the topic of health care in a glib manner. Keeping it concise were it needed to be and elaborating on the things that are directly in our interest, and in turn made everything about Bitter Pill an intuitive piece of work. The support base he constructed from hard numbers was enough to make what he had to say very important. By stating what the problems were and what monies go where he subtly admonished Americans to take an initiative when it comes to the health care system and how America is spending their money. To look for less expensive alternatives to treatment (within reason) and check if the medication theyre paying is worth the investment. By Brill being able to manipulate this information he gathered he certainly recognized its potential and in turn made yet another but valid perspective on The American Health Care and health insurance system.

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Reference Steven Brill (2013) Bitter Pill Time Magazine: Retreived September 30, 2013