Google Directs Healthcare Searches to 'Junk Insurance' Plans in Example of Platform 'Enshittification'
By
hn_acker
6mo ago· 12 min readenOpinion
100/100
Golden Brown
Bagelometer↗
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Score100TypeopinionSentimentnegative
Summary
Cory Doctorow discusses the concept of 'enshittification' - the deliberate worsening of services and platforms for profit. He notes that Google is steering Americans seeking healthcare into 'junk insurance' plans, which represents a particularly egregious example of this phenomenon. Doctorow explains that he now only focuses on the most extreme cases of enshittification, describing Google's healthcare search manipulation as a 'fractally enshittified' situation that harms consumers.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledBeing 'the enshittification guy' means that people expect you to weigh in on every service or platform that has been deliberately worsened to turn a buck.
So these days, I really only take note of fractally enshittified things, exponentially enshittified things, omnienshittified things.
Google is sending Americans looking for health care into 'junk insurance'.
There's too much of this shit, and it's all so mid – a real 'banality of enshittification' situation.
Article URL: https://pluralistic.net/2025/11/25/open-season/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46051169
Points: 24
# Comments: 3
