THE PROBLEM
America spends more on health care than any other nation. Yet Americans endure some of the poorest health of any developed nation.
Why is the U.S. medical system such a cost-effectiveness disaster? The answer is that our health care system is really a “disease care” system -- it focuses on the management of illnesses, rather than on the prevention of disease and the promotion of health. But the vast majority of our national health is influenced by factors over which this disease-based approach has little control -- such as nutrition, stress, societal problems, and environmental toxins. Consequently, in the absence of effective prevention, our present disease care system can never create a truly healthy society.
Recent research shows that at least 50% of deaths and 70% of disease in America are self-inflicted -- caused by an epidemic of unhealthy habits, including improper diet, inadequate exercise, smoking, and alcohol abuse. Thus, the vast majority of disease is preventable. Yet we spend less than 1% of our health sector budget on prevention.
Incredibly, Republicans and Democrats consistently ignore proven prevention-oriented approaches to health, and Medicare specifically bans funding for most preventive services. Following the federal example, most private health insurance companies also refuse to cover prevention. No health care reform bills debated in Congress have focused on improving health; they have dealt only with problems in disease-care financing and delivery, hoping to save money by streamlining and downsizing the system.
Spiraling health care costs have dramatically increased the cost of health insurance, and at least 40% of U.S. citizens are now inadequately covered or have no medical insurance. Health care expenditures have also placed a heavy burden on American businesses; if employee insurance costs continue to rise, many companies will face insolvency.
THE SOLUTION
To implement a system of cost-effective, prevention-oriented health care, proven to prevent disease and save money in the best possible way -- by keeping people healthy and by reducing the cost of health care. By focusing on the prevention of disease and the promotion of health, we can find a solution to the health care crisis that is comprehensive, cost-effective, and scientifically proven.
A proper health care system has two aspects.
1. We must support health strategies that focus on prevention and strengthen the general health of the nation, thereby shifting our national focus from disease care to health care. These programs include prevention-oriented health education, including strategies to modify unhealthy behaviors, and prevention-oriented natural medicines. These preventive strategies have been shown by extensive research to create healthier citizens and to cut health care costs by 50% to 70%.
2. We must support the introduction of a socialized health care system that will help prevent the over inflated costs of the health care system and ensure high-quality care. Health services should be made at least as freely available as are educational services today. A properly organized system of public health services including medical and dental care, which would stress the prevention rather than the cure of illness should be extended to all our people in both rural and urban areas.
Through a two-pronged approach of preventive and socialized health care, we can abolish unreliable programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, save the nation approximately $500 billion a year in health care costs, and prevent untold pain and suffering.
To structure meaningful health-benefits options for all Americans without disastrously increasing the federal budget deficit, we must responsibly decrease health care outlays per person -- a particular challenge as the population ages. The most effective and humane way to achieve this goal is to prevent disease in the first place by strengthening the human immune system and eliminating the imbalances that ultimately cause disease.
These prevention programs should incorporate the most up-to-date knowledge of nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction, as well as the use of natural herbal preparations, natural dietary supplements, and alternative medical treatment modalities. Americans favor such approaches. There are now more visits to alternative medicine practitioners than to conventional doctors. Research has consistently shown that the prevention programs significantly reduce the need for conventional medical treatment by empowering individuals to take better care of their own health.
Our national health care debate has degenerated into an argument over “who should pay for whose disease,” with little attention given to preventing disease and improving health. A prevention orientated approach to health care provides a unifying influence in the political debate by transcending surface bickering over money and solving the health crisis at its basis -- by improving the health of Americans. The enormous savings generated by prevention-oriented programs, coupled with low cost health care, will allow the government to realistically finance medical coverage for the 46 million Americans who are currently uninsured.
The programs of preventive health education are also unique in raising health care to a new level: development of the full potential of every citizen and reduction of individual and societal stress by promoting life in accord with natural law. This approach goes beyond behavioral modifications; such as smoking cessation, which have low compliance and cannot be enforced in a free society. Research shows that stress is responsible for the persistence of life-damaging habits despite overwhelming medical evidence and governmental warnings. By neutralizing individual and social stress, we can improve the effectiveness of such behavioral-modification programs by significantly enhancing compliance. In this way we can achieve a lasting social transformation toward more life-supporting, health-promoting behavior among our citizens.
