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Fixin' Healthcare

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Health Risk

People don't understand health risk. This leaves the door open for those who will to play politics and make money with the issue. Perhaps one day there might be foolproof diagnostic procedures, surgeries and drugs that will detect and treat disease without error or consequences at a low cost. But those days appear to be in the distant future. Meanwhile, secondary prevention as it currently exists is a loser both from a health and economic point of view. There is more than sufficient evidence to demonstrate the health and economic benefits of primary prevention starting with vaccinations and continuing with lifestyle including physical activity (exercise), nutrition, sleep and stress relief. The best thing the government could do for health is provide the opportunity for education, meaningful work and physical and economic security. In that regard, health insurance is as much, if not more, economic security than it is health security. Just as secondary prevention is not as beneficial as primary prevention, medical care is not as beneficial for optimum health status as health care.