The Pundits and Politicians Are Wrong about Healthcare

Opinion: A change in perspective is necessary if we wish to get a handle on America’s healthcare problems.

In the wake of a forty-nine-to-fifty-one defeat of the Republican “skinny repeal” of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it is clear that healthcare remains one of the most hotly contested issues in today’s political climate. However, a large part of the problem does not lie in the absence of some complex piece of legislation (or its repeal), or the failure to add yet another entity to the alphabet soup of federal agencies. Part of the problem is how we—the public and politicians alike—view healthcare.

There’s an old saying you likely heard in childhood, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Unfortunately, it seems that many of us have forgotten this simple yet useful bit of wisdom, as evidenced by the enormous amount of healthcare expenditures that go to treating preventable diseases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eighty-six percent of the nation’s nearly $2.7 trillion in annual health expenditures in 2010 were spent in the treatment of chronic and mental health conditions. The largest portion of this spending came in the form of direct medical treatment for cardiovascular disease ($190 billion). Another heavy hitter, diabetes, accounted for $176 billion in annual spending.

The issue becomes more clear when you consider the risk factors associated with these diseases. The American Heart Association, for example, lists seven simple behaviors that can help one lessen their risk of CVD. These behaviors include, among others, not smoking, engaging in physical activity, and eating a healthy diet (the proverbial apple a day).