Hasan “deeply frustrated” by US healthcare as MrBeast cures 1000 people’s blindness

Twitch’s variety/political streamer Hasan has expressed his disappointment in the US healthcare system while watching MrBeast cure 1,000 people of their blindness.

MrBeast recently released what he claims to be his favorite video of all time, in which he works with SEE International to provide Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) to 1,000 patients around the globe.

SEE describes this procedure as “the simplest, most cost-effective treatment for cataracts by a significant margin” and states the barrier to its use is knowledge, as the technique has a low material cost. A surgeon featured in MrBeast’s video stated that half of the 200 million blind people in the world could be cured with a 10-minute surgery.

While watching the video on stream, Hasan became “filled with rage,” claiming the American Healthcare system has locked an accessible surgery – and in turn, people’s eyesight – behind a paywall.

Hasan rages at American Healthcare during MrBeast video

Hasan watched the MrBeast video during his January 29 stream featuring YouTuber Valkyrae. At one point, Valkyrae let out a loud “aww,” as a woman shed tears after regaining her site, but Hasan had a different reaction.

“You watch this video and go ‘aw, how cute. how nice.’ I watch this video and I’m filled with rage,” Hasan stated, “We shut off access to a 10-minute procedure because we paywalled it and decided that some people simply can’t get it.”

He expressed his frustration further, stating instead of making this procedure readily available, it’s up to “one YouTube guy” to provide the surgery to people who are too poor to afford it themselves.

According to a National Library of Medicine study, MSICS costs a hospital less than $16 in materials. Insurers report that the average cost of cataract surgery in the US ranges from $1,600 to $2,600. And without insurance, cataract removal can be as high as $6,000.

Medicare beneficiaries can expect to pay roughly $316 out of pocket for cataract removal surgery. That’s 2000% more than the cost of materials for the 10-minute MSICS procedure.