I've always thought there is this kind of unwritten directive that
we as a society almost encourage(through advertising, sport events, lifestyle choices, etc). Almost subliminally, Americans are sort of encouraged to drink, smoke, do drugs, get fat, tv, video games, etc.
These bordering-on-sick people are the grease for exorbitant medical profits. In other words, how profitable would big medicine/pharma be today if everyone would drive the speed limit, had a normal BMI, did not drink, did not smoke, exercised 5 days a week, did not eat red meat and Fritos, etc, etc. This country really could do so much better on prevention and think of how much lower health care cost would be. So, in a sense, we are all subsidizing the bad habits orchestrated by the piggie mega-billion corporations. What a deal.
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--- In ibmpensionissues@..., don_m64015@... wrote:
A Health Care System that focuses primarily on Prevention would be the best, and perhaps, Only Way to ever reduce our health care costs substantially. Half, or more of the health issues in this country are "Self Inflicted". Smoking and Obesity, for example, probably account for untold billions of dollars every year. If we could get Congress to quit accepting campaign donations from the tobacco industry, we might see a serious attempt at providing effective Smoking Cessation programs. Then, we Really Need a War on Obesity. These millions of Lardo's are costing us all a fortune with all the health issues they incur from their Gluttony.
"Prevention is ALWAYS far more cost effective than CURE, but our For Profit system really has no interest in killing off its Golden Goose.
Then, there is the issue of Medicare Fraud...somewhere between 50 to 100 billion a year that the thieves rake off from that program. Little more than lip service, and an occasional arrest, ever seems to take place in that arena of Crime.
