Big Pharma Conspiracies & Insurance – Where Mistrust Meets Protection

The past few years have seen a surge in conspiracy theories surrounding “Big Pharma,” with many believing these pharmaceutical companies operate in unethical ways that are detrimental to the patients they’re supposed to be helping. Some of these theories state that powerful companies actively let natural treatments go to waste, worsen diseases on purpose, and manipulate the public– all for monetary gain. The end result of all this is the belief that humanity is being misled on a global scale.

Some theories go as far as claiming that a cure for cancer is known and kept secret, that the treatment provided for HIV/AIDS is more harmful than beneficial, or that the vaccines provided for COVID-19 were ineffective, rushed, or part of a larger scheme. These arguments, more often than not, point accusing fingers at profit-driven pharmaceutical companies.

How does insurance fit into this hubbub?

Surprisingly, it turns out insurance sits at the center of the healthcare puzzle as well as how a patient accesses medications. Policies of health insurance designate what treatments can be done, medicines that will be reimbursed, and how much the individual is required to pay. This essentially gives the insurance industry the role of gatekeeper, one who governs the access that patients have to pharmaceutical options.

For a number of conspiracy theorists, everything that pharma and insurance do is intertwined which amps up the suspicion even more. Insurers approving expensive brand-name drugs while denying coverage for natural remedies or alternative care makes many people believe that evidence is high the system is rigged. Like Big Pharma, insurance companies are alleged to be operating on a profit-centric model that prioritizes patient wellbeing.