Join The An Apple A Day Health Care Plan

May 4, 2009 by JD
Filed under Health, Information, Rants

Did you know that health care costs in the United States will top $2.2 trillion for the year 2009???

That’s over $7,100 per person!

Let me preface my discussion with the ardent fact that I am not one of those descendants of Truman era health reform that is in favor of putting the government in the role of managing health care. Our government has enough trouble just trying (and often failing) to oversee the review and approval of pharmaceutical medicines. Do we really want to expand that oversight to cover dictating what medical treatment options are and are not available? Do we really think that a Medicare-like program would be scalable and efficient enough to provide reasonable care to those who can’t afford private health insurance? Do we even think private insurers would survive in a drastically tilted playing field where the government can subsidize their costs with our tax dollars?

There has to be another solution for the long term.

Did you know that health care costs are responsible for over 60% of the personal bankruptcies that are being declared these days?

Health care costs are too high. No doubt. But implementing a government run universal care system is not the answer. Quite frankly, it is a solution that treats the symptoms of the health care crisis, but not the cause.

Why are health care costs so high?

Many people think the rising costs associated with medical malpractice suits is to blame. That doctors are passing on the astronomical costs of malpractice insurance through. That’s some it, sure.

Also, new treatments and medicines are typically more expensive than older methods, so that’s a chunk of the health care costs increase as well. After all, it cost money to grease the palms of the FDA. At least for those big pharm companies with the dollars to do so. Thanks largely to our government’s outdated and onerous approval processes, it costs alot to get new medicines out the door.

But do you want to know what one of the biggest reasons for the spiraling increase in health care costs is?

It’s the growing numbers of diseases caused by the American obesity epidemic. The treatment of sickness and disease directly related to being overweight is astronomical. It is estimated that obesity driven health care costs increased by over an inflation adjusted 52% between 2000 and 2007. This includes increases in costs associated with the treatment of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease.

In fact, increases in the prevalence of obesity in the population account for a 14% increase in the total overall health care costs for the same period.

And this doesn’t even account for costs associated with other unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking or alcoholism.

If we really want to cut health care costs, we should take responsibility for our own well-being. Eat healthier. Exercise. You’ll cut your own medical spending and be doing your part to improve a wasteful and inefficient health care system that needs help. Just not government help.