FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2026
Media Contact: Anika Thota, PNHP Policy & Communications Specialist, anika@pnhp.org
A groundbreaking new report released by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) finds that the growing financialization of U.S. health care is causing widespread moral injury among physicians – with dire consequences for doctors, patients, and the U.S. health care system as a whole.
The report, “Moral Injury in Medicine: The Human Costs of Practicing in a Profit-Driven System” draws on physician focus groups, a national survey of over 1,200 physicians, individual physician interviews, and patient focus groups to examine how financialized health care structures shape the daily realities of patient care.
Physicians described experiences that go well beyond the common misdiagnosis of “burnout” and reveal how they are routinely prevented from delivering quality care. As one interviewed physician said, “We are not happy with the fact that [we] can’t get you the medicine that you need or that it is too expensive.” Who is to blame for moral injury? Insurers and corporate investors, who demand profits and hold strong influence over how physicians provide treatment, often resulting in subpar care.
“Our research shows that physicians are not failing the system, but rather, the system is failing both physicians and patients,” said Dr. Diljeet K. Singh, president of PNHP. “Doctors enter medicine to care for people, yet they are increasingly forced to navigate corporate agendas and insurance barriers that delay or deny treatment. When clinical judgment is overridden by financial priorities, patient care is no longer prioritized.”
The report indicates that 35% of surveyed physicians felt as if they had to care for more patients than they could safely manage, while 44% said insurance approval barriers or lack of service availability often prevented medically necessary treatment. The research also highlights how financialized health care structures deepen racial inequities. Among surveyed physicians, 41% reported often feeling complicit in structural racism perpetuated by their health care systems.The report concludes that commonly proposed solutions, such as wellness programs or resilience training, fail to address the root causes of physician distress. Physicians consistently emphasized that moral injury arises from structural forces within the health care system, particularly the prioritization of revenue generation and cost containment over patient care.
“If we want to restore trust in medicine and allow physicians to practice ethically, we must address the structural incentives that place profits ahead of patients,” Dr. Singh said.
The full report is available at pnhp.org/MoralInjuryReport
Physicians for a National Health Program (pnhp.org) is a nonprofit research and education organization whose more than 25,000 members support single-payer Medicare for All reform. Support for this program is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
