I think the federal government has the financial resources to provide a national healthcare program to all its population but lacks the fortitude or social responsibility to administer and manage such a program without inevitable waste and corruption.
Alcoholism has been debated for decades as to whether to be considered a disease or a choice. Which leads me to present the question if we should penalize individuals for their lifestyle choices? If so, I think we can lead this to a myriad of health issues that can be related to lifestyle issues. The CDC reported in 2014 that nearly half of the top leading causes of death can be prevented:
- Heart disease: tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, poor diet, overweight and lack of physical activity
- Cancer: tobacco use, poor diet, excessive consumption of alcohol, lack of physical activity, overweight, sun exposure and exposure to certain chemicals and other substances
- Chronic respiratory disease: tobacco smoke, exposure to second-hand smoke, indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, and allergens
- Stroke: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, overweight, tobacco and alcohol use, and lack of physical activity
- Unintentional injury: lack of seat-belt use, lack of motorcycle helmet use, misuse of consumer products, alcohol and drug abuse, and unsafe home and community environments
I think that it is unrealistic to think that the US government will pass legislation that will penalize its citizens for poor lifestyle choices for at least 2 reasons. First, we currently still have the freedom to choose what we put into our bodies and for the most part how we live our lives as long as it does not directly impact one another in a negative or dangerous way. Secondly, our US economy is so incessantly interconnected with the healthcare industry and the fast-food industry ($239 billion in 2020) that it is seemingly in the best interest of the US economy for people to actually be healthy enough to work and be productive, but also ill and unhealthy enough to need the resources of the medical industry on a regular basis.
While we may think that healthcare companies’ goal is provide health and care, realistically they are businesses whose primary goal is to generate income for their owners, stockholders and sometimes 3rd party business partnerships. Afterall, healthcare expenditures in the US for 2019 were $3.80 trillion. Moderna, which produces a Covid19 vaccine expects about a $13 billion profit next year. Pfizer, which also produces pharmaceuticals, expects revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine to reach $33.5 billion this year. Drugstores like CVS Health and Walgreens might generate more than $800 million each in revenue from delivery of booster shots.
I think that if the American people truly want to change how healthcare is viewed and distributed, we need to look at the root causes and factors of poor health education which often leads to poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, stress at home and in the workplace and mental health issues arising often from the previous factors.
References:
Heather N. Why alcoholism is not a disease. Med J Aust. 1992 Feb 3;156(3):212-5. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1992.tb139711.x. PMID: 1545723.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1545723/
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-science-health-coronavirus-vaccine-5305defac283ac5f352bc47fcb74c82b (Links to an external site.)
https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries
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Control the body with the mind. Manage the mind by disciplining the body, through physical activity. Learn to be more active, eat healthier, sleep better, stress less – these are the key components to maintaining a strong mind, body, immune system, and outlook on life.
I am currently offering wellness lectures and classes for group, small group & private instruction in Wekiva, Longwood and Winter Park.
Mind and Body Exercises on Google: https://posts.gle/aD47Qo
Jim Moltzan
407-234-0119
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United Martial Arts Association 