Grammy-nominated rapper and Terror Squad leader Fat Joe is working with the organization Power to the Patients to combat injustices in the American Healthcare system by putting out a public service announcement about an issue he believes is a public crisis.
With the PSA, the national organization Power to the Patients, and the artist, whose real name is Joseph Antonio Cartagena, bring attention to how many hospitals are not in compliance with the 2021 federal mandate that requires them to provide clear, upfront pricing, so that patients can “see, compare, and save.”
Less than 25% of the hospitals in the United States have complied with this rule.
Joe said in a statement, “We have to change the healthcare system and hold hospitals and insurers accountable to provide more transparency on the price of care. They are charging way too much money and the bills are not even consistent.”
Adding, “Somebody could get an MRI for $300 and someone right behind them could be paying thousands for the same MRI. Right now, millions across the country are being dragged into debt because they’re blindsided by the cost of these medical bills. Families are falling apart. People are losing their homes. People are getting bankrupted because of hospital bills and healthcare.”
“People across America are fighting for the truth,” the Bronx rapper begins the public service announcement.
“Fighting [are]to be free of a healthcare system that is rigged against all of us,” he continues. “One that squeezes our wages and forces patients into death. Our health care system is crushing the American dream by robbing workers, employers, unions, and families.”
Fat Joe then addresses the real issue, pointing out that “hospitals and insurers hide their prices,” and explains when they “gouge” and “hide” prices from the average person, they are “breaking the law.”
The rapper-turned-actor-and-now health advocate called on elected officials in local administrations, statehouses, Congress, and “all the way up to President Biden” to enforce transparency rules that already exist that will make the hospitals and insurance companies be more honest.
Believing average people can work with those medical professionals to ensure “a more honest equitable affordable system.”
In a news release about the campaign, Joe states, “Knowing prices is the only way we will be able to lower our costs in healthcare. So, we have to fight for the people,” said Joe. “I teamed up with Power to the Patients to educate our communities on their rights and help put an end to this injustice.”
To find out more about the law and Power to the Patients click here.
