Pros of Health Care Reform: You Might Actually Get and Stay Healthy
Pros of Health Care Reform: You Might Actually Get and Stay Healthy
With the 2010 mid-term elections behind us, we will undoubtedly be hearing renewed debate over the health care reform bill. Few in the media actually talk about the pros of health care reform. However, the good thing coming out of all of this free speech and debate is that there seems to be a greater focus on actually promoting health rather than promoting staying sick.
In the past, health care was about doctors keeping us healthy. In recent decades, doctors have had less and less time to spend consulting patients on lifestyle habits to improve health. Through no fault of their own, the few minutes that they have to spend with patients is usually reduced to looking at some numbers on a chart and prescribing the appropriate medication. Sometimes the advice of "eat right and exercise" is given while the doctor walks out the door. The patient is left thinking that medications are the only option.
The overwhelming amount of medications these days are prescribed for overweight-related diseases such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Because the patient hasn't learned healthier habits through taking medication alone, the patient is actually getting sicker each year. All of a sudden, the patient is on multiple medications. Over decades, major health issues and surgery for back pain, knee pain, heart blockages, and diabetes-related eye and foot problems is the common result.
The other result is that as the population gets sicker, the demand for subsidized medicines and surgeries increases. There has even been talk about subsidizing weight loss surgery! Health care costs increase not only for the patient, but for everyone. This is unfortunate, because in most cases these diseases are completely preventable with proper nutrition.
If the discussion over the cons and pros of health care reform has done anything, it has brought this issue closer to the forefront. Prevention is not quite at the top of everyone's list, but it is getting there.
Let's pretend that the government completely overhauled the health care system, with the focus on keeping people healthy rather than helping them stay sick. Where might the tax dollars that would have otherwise funded medications and surgeries go?
The government invests money not in farm subsidies for large farms, but in small family farms so that everybody can have access to fresh, healthy local produce and meats
The government invests money in community-based health coaches who offer private coaching to people committed to getting and staying healthy despite the obesity-promoting world around them
The government mandates that insurance companies provide coverage for alternative healthcare practitioners such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, naturopathic and homeopathic doctors, etc.
These examples could end up on the "pros of health care reform list" if there were enough demand from the American people. Americans are getting more overweight and obese every year, and clearly the current health care system has been complicit in promoting this cycle of sickness and money spent on keeping people sick, otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation. It's like pouring money into a never-ending funnel of sickness!
Hopefully the recent elections will reignite debate as to how best our health care dollars our spent. If the government shifts its focus from putting money into managing sickness to investing in a healthy America, Americans would be happier being healthier and wealthier.
6 Unconventional Things to Consider When Choosing a Healthy Weight Loss Program NIA24 Skin Care Products for Healthy Skin Vivite: Skin Care Products for Healthy Skin Routine Exercise Is Good For Healthy Body Time To Start Thinking About Winter Tyres. Herbal Remedies for Arthritis, Joint Pain and Stiffness That Work Herbal Treatment for Azoospermia, Nil Sperm Count Or Absent Of Sperm Colic Natural Herbal Remedies, Causes and Symptoms 18 Effective Hair Fall Natural Remedies - Herbal Treatments That Work 10 Powerful Hair Loss Herbs That Prevent and Control Hair Fall and Baldness Home Remedies For Heel Pain And Foot Pain Another good thing men should consider in buying a winter jacket The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program Review Scam - how to gain muscle and lose fat