Seemingly everytime we pick up a newspaper or periodical we see that health care costs have risen again. The only real question anymore is 'How Much?'. Of course, if we still have health insurance, the premium rates continue to go up and up. What in the world can we do about this? Would statewide mandatory insurance coverage do the trick? Can we somehow legislate lower insurance premiums? Are the drug companies really the culprits? Maybe we simply need to move to Canada or Europe.
Recent studies show that our national health care spending increased in 2006 by 6.7% to $2.1 trillion. That means that one out of every six dollars spent in our national economy goes for health care. The 'good news' in this staggering number is that this is actually slower growth than we saw for 2005. Apparently we're going in the right direction, even if too slowly.
Another amazing fact, to me at least, is the amount of 'out-of-pocket' spending each of us averages after insurance premiums, etc. In 2006, we spent, on average, 12% out-of-pocket for our health care expenses. Know what we spent out-of-pocket in 1960? We spent 47% out-of-pocket for health care expenses.
That means that we are shielded to a much greater degree today from our real health care costs than we were in 1960. Our out-of-pocket costs have decreased steadily since 1960. We are often at the point today where we think of the cost of health care as being the $10 or $20 co-pay we have to come up with when we go to see the doctor. Or, the $20 or $30 dollars we have to cough up for medicines. Those amounts are very small percentages of the total costs.
Why is this important? It is important because we need to think about what we're spending if we're ever going to be able to bring this cost spiral under control. If we come to understand that the real cost of the doctor visit is in the range of $125 to $150 or more, we can begin to understand that maybe we shouldn't be running to the doctor everytime we have a runny nose or a cough.
Another very interesting fact is this: more than 50% of all health care claims costs in America today are to cover lifestyle-related illnesses. Those are the things that you and I can control to one degree or another. But, we can't control them if we don't know about it or if we choose not to do anything about it. What are 'lifestyle' issues? Smoking, alcohol use, obesity and simply laying around doing no exercise.
Does this apply to us? Here are the most current facts: One in every four Americans eat fast food every day! Six of ten Americans do not exercise or seldom exercise! Two of every three Americans are classified as either overweight or obese!
This is the real source of our health care cost crisis. We have met the enemy and it is us!
No mandatory state programs, or profit controls on drug companies or anything else is going to solve this problem. The simple truth is that this is up to us. All the rest of these proposals are simply pablum calculated to make us feel good.
That is why this 'stuff' is flowing from the mouths of politicans. And it does nothing to solve the problem!
Let your politicians know that you understand this. If they really want to help us, they'll begin an educational program using some of the 'smoker money' to get the true message out. And, be sure to tell them we do not want laws banning fast food or drinking or smoking. We need to take responsibility for ourselves. No one else can do that for us. The marketplace will make its own corrections just as you've begun to see with the menu changes going on in the world of fast foods, for example.
Maybe if insurance companies were permitted to charge people what we deserve to be charged based on our lifestyle habits, we'd begin to see these changes occur. If I smoke, I pay more. If I'm overweight, I pay a surcharge. Make me feel my wallet lightening up if I don't take personal responsibility (just don't think this is your new way to raise taxes).
Don't just continue to blame big health, or big drugs or big insurance! You are doing nothing but pandering when you resort to this, and we're on to you!
