Health Care

A friend forwarded me an email with amusing cartoons about the “Golden Years” and appended at the end of all the email was the following poem (author unknown):

A row of bottles on my shelf
Caused me to analyze myself.
One yellow pill I have to pop
Goes to my heart so it won't stop.
A little white one that I take
Goes to my hands so they won't shake.
The blue ones that I use a lot
Tell me I'm happy when I'm not.
The purple pill goes to my brain
And tells me that I have no pain.
The capsules tell me not to wheeze
Or cough or choke or even sneeze..
The red ones, smallest of them all
Go to my blood so I won't fall.
The orange ones, very big and bright
Prevent my leg cramps in the night.
Such an array of brilliant pills
Helping to cure all kinds of ills.
But what I'd really like to know
Is what tells each one where to go!

Funny and yet scary thoughts at the same time. I certainly don’t want to have to be popping all those pills just to keep going.

As medical advances come up with all kinds of drugs and medication which permits us to live longer, the question we are all forced to face is whether or not the ends justify the means. How much of a burden are we leaving to the next generation as the cost of healthcare sky-rockets and tax the Medicare and Medicaid systems?

As the United States push forward to adopt a more universal health coverage, it is inevitable that the quality of care will drop off unless the government is able to fund the added costs. It is like a triangle with one of its angles representing “Scope”, the second angle representing “Quality of Care” and the third angle representing “Costs”. By expanding the “Scope” angle to bring more people into the healthcare system, the “Quality of Care” angle will tighten, unless, of course the “Costs” angle is expanded at the same time.

In order to keep the costs down so that more people can benefit from the universal health coverage without an increased tax burden on everyone, Americans will have to be taught how to take better care of themselves. It is not an impossible task – a popular TV show has demonstrated to the world that it is possible for even the grossly obese to lose weight and become healthy enough to get off their blood pressure, diabetic and other medication.

Millions of dollars are spent every year to encourage smokers to quit and to dissuade young people from taking up the habit. What we need is a similar push to get people off their couches and to start exercising and to rid themselves of eating habits that are detrimental to their long term health. Schools should have compulsory “healthy living” classes so that the next generation grows up armed with all the knowledge they need to stay away from poor eating habits and bad diets. Parents can set the example for their children to follow by adopting a more active lifestyle, getting their kids away from computers and video games and onto the playing fields, or their bicycles or scooters, and onto the path of a better and healthier life.

Despite the very vocal objections, cities have successfully banned smoking in public places, pubs and restaurants, realizing that an unhealthy public is a drain on the cities’ resources. They need to take similarly drastic actions to force restaurants to serve healthier food as the city authorities themselves strive to provide more parks, facilities and occasions for their residents to get moving. To fund these new healthy-living programs, they should implement a “Fat Tax” and make it applicable across the board for all sales of food / drinks that are high in empty cholesterol and fat.

Lifestyle changes are the hardest but the most effective way to trim health-care costs.