Who is Responsible For the Health Crisis in America?

A baby born in the U.S. in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42d in the world, down from 11th twenty years earlier.

- Source: Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics

BLAME-STORMING THE HEALTH CRISIS

Who is responsible for the health crisis in America? Is it the government? The state of the economy? Parents? Schools? What about you and me? Restaurants? Grocery stores? Or is it our busy schedules? How about those get-togethers and parties you attend? Maybe the presented food choices are to blame. Yes! "Blame." That is the word I was looking for! We are looking for someone or some institution to blame for our health crisis.

IS THERE A GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY?

Is there a government conspiracy? If so, just who are the conspirators? Let us get one thing straight. You and I do not need anyone's help in creating a health crisis. There is a reason for this. You and I are the greatest conspirators of our own lives. We have received more than enough information to let us know what to do to enhance our health and yet we, in many cases, do not act and make the changes. I think that clarifies the conspiracy theory in a nutshell. When I speak of this health crisis, I am not talking about medical insurance or medical costs or treatment. True, this is an important issue. However, this issue only touches on the surface of the problem. How we think, eat and live is the real cause. So who or what is responsible? Do you have an idea? Who is the villain or culprit?

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR HEALTH

You are personally responsible for all the decisions you make. Do not blame any institution or anyone else for your poor choices that lead to disease, illness and poor health.

WHY AMERICANS RANK LOW ON LONGEVITY

What has caused America to fall so far behind the statistics on longevity in the world? The ranking went from 11th to 42d. Americans do live longer, but not as long as 41 other countries, according to National Center on Health Statistics. Why is one of the richest countries in the world not able to keep up with other countries? Some say it is because the United States has no universal health care. I do not see that as the primary reason since we have never had universal health care. Here is what I think are some of the primary reasons for this trend:

Adults in the United States have one of the highest obesity rates in the world. One third of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese and about two thirds are overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Americans are extremely sedentary in their lifestyles.
Americans do not exercise at all or very little.
Americans eat too much and they eat too much processed foods, sugar and fat.
As long as the health care debate is limited to insurance, the health of Americans will not improve.

SAM MADE ME DO IT

Kids sometimes will do the craziest things. Once upon a time, there were two brothers. We will call them Sam and Jake. As school-aged brothers, Sam challenged Jake to climb a tree, and so he does. Then Jake is challenged, on a dare, to go farther out on a long, thin branch of the tree. He gets about half way out before the limb breaks, and he comes falling to the earth with a thump. Jake broke his nose and got some cuts and bruises. Both kids report to their mother and of course Mom asks Jake, "How did this happen?" Jake responds, "Sam made me do it!"

There are many complaints I hear about all that enticing processed food in the grocery stores. There are remarks about the special challenge of eating out: The portion sizes are too big, and there are all those irresistible, unhealthy "choices" available. I see no difference between Jake's response and these complaining adults' reactions to their plight - or, should I say, dilemma. Jake said, "Sam made me do it." Translation: Sam is responsible for Jake's poor decision to go out on a limb. That is nonsense. Jake is responsible for his own decision to go out on a limb. We adults are too frequently "going out on a limb" with our health by making poor choices while laying the blame on external circumstances or institutions -- whether commercial, social, or governmental. Cease fire with such thoughts of blaming external circumstances or other people. Take charge. Be accountable for your own actions.

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Are our institutions off the hook when it becomes to responsibility? No, they are not. I use the term "institution" in a broad sense, to include the following:

Federal, state and local governments
Political parties and politicians
Teachers and school boards
Physicians, dentists, nurses
Journalists, press and media
CEO's and corporate shareholders
Restaurateurs, marketers
School cafeterias
Workplace cafeterias
Clergy, little league coaches
Parents and caregivers
Law enforcement officers, parole officers
Military leaders (from the squad leader upward)

INSTITUTIONS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE

What kind of leadership responsibility do institutions have when it comes to healthy eating and exercise? Institutions, as well as all leaders, have a heightened level of responsibility beyond rules and regulations of the organization. Our institutions have the special responsibility to "walk the talk," clarify the goals of health and fitness, and assume a more visionary role to set and implement standards for a solution to our health crisis. Our institutions are morally obligated to set the example by living by the higher standard required of them as leaders. This can be accomplished through legislation, executive orders and both internal and public policy making. Our institutions need to deal with the problem directly and use their special influence to save lives and prevent suffering.

HEALTH INSURANCE DOES NOT EQUATE TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Health insurance will not accomplish this. Are you looking for true medical insurance? Make your premium payments in the form of living a healthy lifestyle void of dependence on a home pharmacy of medications. Most of our medications are prescribed because of our lifestyles, not because we simply got sick. I am talking about the overwhelming rule and not the exception.

There are exceptional cases where, despite a healthy lifestyle, serious disease or illness happens. Would you cease to drive a car simply because someone had an automobile accident? In addition, you certainly should not cease to lead a healthy lifestyle just because someone you know lived to be 100 years old as a smoker. That would be a fatal error in thinking. It is just this type of thinking that is killing and maiming Americans. Ban this type of thinking from your mind.

Take the educational institutions for America's young people. Schools are primarily focused on delivering on educating our youth with an approved curriculum. Schools need to go beyond mere curriculum, to consider the whole child, setting improved fitness and healthy eating as a priority. Fitness and healthy eating should be a part of the curriculum, as they play a major role in the development of a child.

TEACHERS ARE ROLE MODELS

Teachers are role models and leaders when it comes to eating and exercise habits and how they portray their attitudes about fitness and health in school. John Maxwell defines leadership as "influence - nothing more, nothing less." Moving beyond the position of the teacher to assessing the ability of the teacher to influence others as a leader is essential. This refers to those who would consider themselves followers, and those outside that circle.

Leadership builds character, because without maintaining integrity and trustworthiness, the capability to positively influence will disappear. There are many other definitions of leadership. They all point to a leader having influence on others and providing to them the guidance and direction necessary to envision a long-term view of the future.

POINT OUR CHILDREN IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Policy is made from the top down through legislation, executive order, mission and policy statements. Where there is a void in such top-down leadership, the initiative must begin from the ground up. Educational institutions by virtue of their access to vast blocks of our children's time, have a unique responsibility to go beyond mere curriculum to consider the whole child. By offering and stressing healthier choices, they are setting precedent for the rest of that child's life.

Early in America's pioneer history, schoolteachers were expected to be morally beyond reproach in every detail of their own lifestyle. This reflected how those communities wanted to influence their children's future and the future of the country as a whole. Today's America likewise needs today's schoolteachers to be wholeheartedly health conscious for the same reason. Our future depends on it.

That is not to say that all schoolteachers should be fashion-model thin or good-looking or in any way shaped by the media's image. An overweight teacher who is working to improve her fitness would be preferable over the Size 4 who is proud to eat candy bars and drink sodas in front of her pupils. Institutions are role models in all that they say and do or do not say or do. Their policies and actions set the standards.

WE ARE KILLING OUR CHILDREN

Look at some statistics on childhood obesity in America. About 15 percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 years are seriously overweight. The percentage of children and adolescents who are defined as overweight has nearly tripled since the early 1970s.

Over 10 percent of preschool children between ages of two and five are overweight.
Another 15 percent of children and teens ages 6-19 are considered at risk of becoming overweight.
Researchers found that lowered self-esteem was associated with being overweight in girls as young as five.
One in five children in the U.S. is overweight.
Children ages 10-13 who are obese are expected to have a 70% likelihood of suffering from obesity as adults.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC), 1999-2000

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

CHILDHOOD OBESITY ONLY AN INDICATOR AND NOT THE REAL PROBLEM

Childhood obesity is only the indicator of an underlying problem of a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits. Address these underlying issues, and childhood obesity will be significantly reduced.

SCHOOLS, TEACHERS AND PARENTS HAVE A HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY

Our schools, teachers and parents have a heightened level of leadership responsibility to address the statistics that are just a few of many indicators of the direction of the state of health of our children. Once these children become adults, they, too, will pass on their lifestyles to their children and will in all likelihood perpetuate poor eating and exercise habits. The consequences will manifest themselves as learning disabilities, increased crime, and socioeconomic problems which our children's generation cannot afford to inherit.

THE MOTHER OF ALL INSTITUTIONAL EXCUSES

What is the number one excuse institutions use for not doing more to fight the poor state of health of Americans?

Answer: It is each individual's own decision as to how he or she wants to live, how he or she wants to eat and exercise or not. This is the mother of all institutional excuses. An institution using this excuse relinquishes its leadership responsibility as a visionary to lead and guide by example and exercise that institutional influence it possesses. The institutions need to ask the visionary question of what can they do to influence, guide and inspire each individual to make healthy lifestyle choices.

WHY PYRAMIDS AND DIETARY GUIDELINES DON'T WORK

Dietary guidelines, pyramids and charts have all failed to make Americans healthier. Why are they not working? Institutions are made up of individuals who are a cross-section of society who are therefore personally dealing with the same lifestyle issues about eating and exercise, as are all consumers.

Dietary guidelines do not work, because the vast majority of the food and beverage industry does not incorporate them into food choices and portion sizes we see on the shelves. Remember, this is from the perspective of the institution and its responsibility and in no way diminishes the personal responsibility of every individual to take charge of their own lifestyle and choices. Our children need special guidance to learn what personal responsibility means. That guidance must come from adults.

GOVERNMENT SETS THE STANDARD AS A LEADER

Emission controls in the automobile industry have resulted in smaller, cleaner, and more fuel-efficient cars; though more work remains to be done. These successes were accomplished through government regulation through the Clean Air Act and similar initiatives. We have another just as pressing form of pollution going on in America: health pollution.

HEALTH POLLUTION

We have a health pollution crisis on our hands in America, and - as with automobile emission regulations - the food and beverage industry needs to be regulated to meet improved standards for healthy eating through strict labeling, reduced portion sizes, and regulation and disclosure of unhealthy ingredients in our country's food supply.

The free market society needs some governmental fine-tuning in order to save American lives and prevent suffering. The cost of not doing so is enormous. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes (the four leading causes of death in the U.S.), and obesity, hypertension, and osteoporosis are all linked to diet and exercise. Americans and their children are the most over-fed and under-nourished group of people in the world.

One out of two Americans is overweight. One-third of Americans are obese. Being overweight is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

ILLNESS AND DISEASE IS COSTING AMERICA BIG BUCKS

The total cost of stroke to the United States is estimated at about $43 billion per year.
$28 billion per year direct costs for medical care and therapy.
$15,000 is the average cost of care for a patient for up to 90 days after a stroke.
$35,000 for 10% of patients, the cost of care for the first 90 days after a stroke.

*Statistics compiled from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council "Hospital Performance Report: 28 Common Medical Procedures and Treatments" (December 2002)

FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

The food and beverage industry as well as the health and wellness industry have a leadership responsibility to clean up their marketing. Misinformation and misleading claims are rampant. Observe carefully and you will detect the emotion-laden words, which are associated with poor choices and portion sizes:

Convenient (over-processed)
All natural (so is lard and corn syrup)
Lite or light (lots of added sugar)
Quick and easy (huge amounts of sodium)
Simple (check the label; not so simple, unpronounceable ingredients.)

In addition, the list goes on:

Fun, exciting, easy, time saver, feels great, low-carb, no sugar, no fat, healthy, look great.

Will the food and beverage industry have an economic price to pay for such changes? Yes, the transitional period will have some associated costs, in the short term. In the end, the food and beverage industry as well as consumers and our country as a whole will all benefit from a healthier America with healthier food choices. In fact, this will result in innovation and new areas of revenue for the food and beverage industry, all while actively contributing to making Americans and America healthier and stronger.

THE PUBLIC'S BASIC RIGHT TO KNOW

Disclosure is the law for government in Florida and many other states and federal entities. The Sunshine Law of Florida establishes a basic right of access to most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of state and local governmental agencies or authorities. It has led to not only a more informed public, but also actually better government.

Full disclosure on food labels would likewise inform the public and result in healthier foods being produced and marketed. True full disclosure for the average consumer must be in the form of a simple "level of healthiness" and "level of nutrients" grade. The factors determining the simple, easy-to-understand grade must be clearly defined in easily understandable language.

HEALTH POLLUTION A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE

The present health pollution of America is a national security issue because the consequences go much farther into sociological issues, such as increased crime and poor learning ability. An unhealthy America cannot perform or think as well.

LOOKING FORWARD

Whatever challenges our country faces will be better met if we are healthier in mind and body. Sick and unhealthy Americans are living longer and living with meds. These Americans need to be weaned back to health and off the meds, where possible. In most cases, lifestyle changes will result in improved health, independent of meals. Our physicians are challenged with a special institutional leadership role in strategizing to prescribe lifestyle-based changes and not just medication so that they and not just medication so that they truly can take on the role of healers, not only for the patient but also for the nation. Keep America strong. The medication mindset without healthy eating and exercise is killing Americans.

We have what it takes to change our culture for the betterment of all by taking personal responsibility for our lifestyles we lead. Our institutions have an equally important role model responsibility to set the tone and standard necessary to keep America healthy. Regardless of political affiliation, there should be complete agreement about personal and institutional responsibilities.

By Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein, USAR-Ret., author of Weight Loss - Twenty Pounds in Ten Weeks - Move It to Lose It

Lt. Col. Weinstein, nationally known as the Health Colonel, has been featured on the History Channel and specializes in a military-style workout for all fitness levels on Fort Lauderdale Beach in South Florida. He is the author of Boot Camp Fitness for All Shapes and Sizes, Weight Loss - Twenty Pounds in Ten Weeks - Move It to Lose It, Discover Your Inner Strength (co-author), Change Made Easy and Quotes to Live By.

His website: http://www.BeachBootCamp.net
Office 954-636-5351
Email TheHealthColonel@BeachBootCamp.net

A New Idea To The Health Insurance Crisis In America

Lack of health insurance coverage for over 41 million Americans is one of the nation's most pressing problems. While most elderly Americans have coverage through Medicare and nearly two-thirds of non-elderly Americans receive health coverage through employer-sponsored plans, many workers and their families remain uninsured because their employer does not offer coverage or they cannot afford the cost of coverage. Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or HAWK-I here in Iowa help fill in the gaps for low-income children and some of their parents, but the reach of these programs is limited. As a result, millions of Americans without health insurance face adverse health consequences because of delayed or foregone health care and extending coverage to the uninsured has become a national priority. -(Information taken from kff.org)

The number of people that are forced to go without health insurance is nothing less than a crisis in this country today. We have fallen into a vicious cycle over the last few decades in which health insurance premiums have become too expensive for even a middle class family to afford. This in turn results in the inability of the uninsured to cover medical costs which often times results in the financial ruins of the family, and in turn results in the continuing loss of income by the medical community, which in turn drives the cost of medical expenses higher, finally cycling back to the insurance company which then must drive the premiums of health insurance higher to help cover the rising cost of health care.

Many proposals have been tossed around by politicians on both sides of the isle ranging from socializing health care comparable to the Canadian system, to endorsing health savings accounts and cracking down on frivolous law suits against the medical community. Many of these proposals have good points, but along with whatever good points they bring they also bring major downfalls. For instance; a socialized national health care program would eliminate the need for health insurance all together and the cost would be taken on by taxes, which in theory doesn't seem like a bad idea. However, the downfalls to this system include a deficit in new doctors willing to get into the field due to the inevitable decline in income while the demand would grow due to no personal responsibility. In short if people didn't have to worry about deductibles or copays that would normally keep the person from seeking medical treatment for minor things, they would simply go to the doctor every time they had an ache or pain. So now we have waiting lines for people with major health problems since everyone is scheduling an appointment while at the same time we are loosing doctors due to lack of incentive.

The current battle cry by the republican Bush administration is to push HSA's (Health Savings Accounts) which reduce premium by taking a less expensive high deductible health insurance plan with a tax deferred savings account that earns a small interest on the side that you contribute to along with your premiums each month. Any money withdrawn from the savings account for qualified medical expenses are taken "tax-free", and unlike a flex spending account like many people are familiar with in employer based plans, you don't lose the money you put into the account that you don't use. Basically if you never used any of that money in the savings account you could withdrawal or roll it over into another vehicle once you turn 62 1/2 penalty free to be used for retirement. This is a viable option for some people, however for many the premiums for these plans are still too expensive, and the problem remains that if you need major treatment in the first few years of the policy you will not have a big enough amount in the savings account to help cover the gaps leaving that person responsible for a large portion of the cost out of pocket.

Now we come to what I believe is one of the biggest problems from a health insurance agent's point of view, which is the inability for persons with pre-existing health conditions to obtain coverage. From the number of people that contact my office searching for health insurance coverage, I would have to say that about half of them have a health condition that will either result in an insurance company declining that persons application, or result in an amendment rider which basically excludes coverage for any claims related to that condition. An example of a condition that I run across constantly is hypertension or high blood pressure. This condition will sometimes result in a company declining an application all together if other factors are involved, but most generally result in an amendment exclusion rider. You may think that this isn't that big of a deal, after all, blood pressure medicine is about the only thing they would have to pay for out of pocket, but what many people don't realize is that this rider will exclude ANYTHING that could be considered part of this condition including heart attacks, strokes, and aneurisms which would all result in a huge out of pocket claim. Consider the fact that my father had a double by-pass surgery recently that ended up with a final bill of around $150,000. This whole amount would have had to come out of pocket had he had a hypertension rider on his health insurance policy, not to mention the added cost of 2 months off of work thrown into the mix. On a modest income of $40,000 per year this would have ruined him financially.

So what how do we fix this problem? Obviously the proposals thus far have been flawed from the beginning, and even if one of these plans gained support from the American people chances are it would never be passed into law simply due to political infighting. One side wants to keep health care privatized while the other wants to socialize it, which as we discussed before both have upsides and downsides. It seems that we are doomed on this issue and there is no real ideas or light at the of the tunnel right? Maybe not, let me tell you about a client I had in my office a couple of years ago.

A young woman came in wanting to compare health insurance plans to see if there were any options for her and her family. She had several children and had been on Title 19 Medicaid and had been going to college paid by the state. She had recently graduated from college and had gotten a job with the local school system, however for whatever reason she was not eligible for health insurance benefits. Obviously she still couldn't afford 5 or 6 hundred dollars per month for a plan so she went back to the aid office and explained her situation. They ended up working with us to find an acceptable private health insurance plan and reimbursed her for a percentage of the cost which I didn't even know was possible!

This got me thinking, consider how many more people would be able to obtain coverage if they could be reimbursed by the government a percentage of the premium according to their income. For example; take a young married couple in their 20's with one child, let's say that their family income is $25,000 and that the average premium for a $500 deductible health insurance plan for them is $450. Just as an example let's say that the government determined that a three person family with an annual income of $25,000 is reimbursed 50% of their premium taking the actual cost to the family to $225 per month. This is now an affordable enough premium for the family to consider.

With this merging of private insurance with government assistance we get the best of both worlds. Of course the next question goes to cost, how much more would this cost the American tax payer and how much would this raise taxes? I don't think that it would cost the tax payers much more an here's why I think that: First off we would bring down significantly the amount of uninsured people that are unable to pay for the medical care they get in turn driving down the total cost of health care. Secondly the number of people that are forced into bankruptcy and driven to Medicaid Title 19 assistance due to medical bills stemming from catastrophic medical conditions that don't have health insurance coverage would be significantly reduced. This is important to keep in mind considering that once someone is on Medicaid they are receiving health care basically 100% covered by the government so there is no more incentive to not seek treatment for minor or non-existing conditions. On the flip side many conditions that would have not been caught before they became severe because a person didn't seek treatment due to not having insurance coverage would now be caught before they turned into a catastrophic claim. Finally, if the government allocated a certain amount of money to help cover claims by people that have pre-existing conditions the private insurance companies could do away with exclusions and declines due to already existing health problems, this is already done is some states such as the HIPIOWA Iowa Comprehensive Plans which insures Iowa residents that can not obtain coverage elsewhere.

You may be sitting there thinking that this is all just wishful thinking and that these ideas could never be implemented, but all of these ideas are already being implemented. The problem is that only some states do some programs and not even most health insurance agents know that some low income families can get reimbursed for health insurance premiums. If these programs were all standardized and put into effect on a national well publicized level I believe it would put one hell of a dent in the uninsured population in this country. Now I don't pretend to know what the reimbursement levels should be for what income levels but I do know that anything is better than nothing, and in my opinion this is the best middle ground we could find. The Democrats would be happy with the socialized aspect of the reimbursement, and the republicans should be happy that health care remains privatized giving this solution a better chance at a by-partisan backing.

I have faxed this idea to several senators and congressmen but always received the same type of standard response about how they are concerned with health care and that they are working hard to find a solution knowing full well that no one really even read my letters. The only way to get these ideas out into the public is for you that read this to pass it on to others by word of mouth, by email, or by linking your websites to this webpage. If enough buzz is created than these ideas would get the consideration that they deserve, and if enough people like you and I demanded that a solution be found than perhaps enough stress can be placed on the politicians to get something done. The number of uninsured Americans is only going to go up, the cost of health care is only going to go up, and the cost of health insurance premiums are only going to go up if something isn't done now! Until then the only thing that I as a health insurance agent can do is to compare all of the options out there and present you with the lesser of all of the evils, which in too many cases the option that is chosen is the biggest evil of going without coverage.

Written by Spencer L Fraise - Agent/Manger MultiQuote Insurance

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