Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad (Commercial) Health Insurance
A comedically-tragic fable for adults about Harm-for-Profit | By Kimberly J. Soenen | June 12, 2023
The system isn’t broken, Mr. Nibbles. It was designed this way. The Harm-for-Profit business model is intentional.
Theodore is a bear with wild mood swings. When he is up, he carves epic poetry into tree trunks. When he is down, he paints sad faces on rocks and turtle shells. In search of prescription medications that will bring stability to his life, Theodore finds a job with commerical health insurance benefits. He gets the meds, but when he can’t pay the psychiatrist’s bill, he becomes lost in the Labyrinth of Health Insurance Claims.
Bipolar Bear is a fable for American adults that addresses the Commercial Health Insurance industry’s Denial of Care business model (still legal) and the harm and death it causes in the United States of America. Denial of Care imposes bankrupcty, lifelong medical debt and bio physiological distress.
This book, by artist and writer Kathleen Founds, follows the tragically comical exploits of Theodore, a loveable and relatable bear, as he copes with bipolar disorder, navigates the inequities of capitalist society, founds a commune, and becomes an activist, all the while accompanied by a memorable cast of characters—fat-cat commercial health insurance CEOs, a wrongfully convicted snake, raccoons with tommy guns, and an unemployed old dog who cannot learn new tricks.
With the Commercial Health Insurance industry now denying care at a rate of 50-100 claims per 1.2 seconds through algorithms, and hospital chains refusing to provide medical care to persons with medical bill debt, where does the bear go from here?
How does the Denial of Care business model impact his physical, mental, emotional and financial health?
Walk the barbaric labryinth.