Yeah… Started with a mission, started with a vow, “Help the poor get care” — but look around now. Washington whispers, boardrooms applaud, Good intentions drift when the margins get large. [Verse 1] Back in the day, it was medicine with a cause, Stretch scarce dollars, patch the healthcare flaws. Safety net dreams, clinics holdin’ the line, Tryna keep treatment alive when the funding declined. But then the river turned into an ocean of gold, Everybody found religion when the profits got old. “Non-profit” signs with executive wings, Big salaries climb while the ribbon-cutting sings. New towers rise with the glass and chrome, Cancer patient asks: “How much reaches home?” Administrators feast, consultants all grin, Mission on the wall while the margins roll in. [Pre-Chorus] They say, “Don’t question us, this helps the weak,” But incentives talk loud when the spreadsheets speak. You can love the origin, defend the creed, Still get addicted to a subsidy feed. [Chorus] Grift… everybody says the mission still exists Grift… but the system got hooked on the easy hits Grift… when the gold ring glows, nobody wants to quit Grift… build another tower while they call it benefit Grift… more rules, more loopholes, more power to lift Grift… if it’s broken, why expand the grift? [Verse 2] Community docs grind, independent and lean, Different reimbursement, unequal machine. Then the hospital buys another practice nearby, Same chemo, same drug — watch the billing multiply. Corporate medicine dressed in a charitable coat, Lobbyists steer while the taxpayers float. Cancer care caught in a slow consolidation, Policy made by the ones with representation. The irony’s sharp, almost too absurd, Reform means expand? Make it bigger? That’s the word? If the engine leaks oil, maybe fix the design, Not pour more fuel in and call it divine. [Bridge] This ain’t left or right, red tie or blue, It’s what happens when incentives rewrite truth. Government and medicine merge for the take, And the mission gets buried underneath the opaque. [Final Chorus] Grift… started as a ladder, turned into a lift Grift… now the whole machine afraid to resist Grift… every stakeholder swears they’re altruist Grift… while the balance sheets quietly persist Grift… if the cure became the thing that’s sick Grift… maybe ask who profits from the fix [Outro] Original mission? Some still believe. But systems change shape when there’s too much to receive. And the hardest truth in every institution: Good intentions don’t guarantee good execution.
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