The Cost of New Year's Resolutions
| posted by Kelly Jad'onOur omniscient government has a list of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Ironically, each one inidividually leads to a healthier happier life. A wish list? Perhaps, but if we the people fulfilled these important proposals, the government would have less to be responsible for, and therefore less money spent. Health care costs equally have become a burden outside government plans, in the corporate world. For those with coverage, it is an expensive but necessary employee perk; for those without insurance--a greater mortal risk.
It's true that healthcare spending in the corporate world is beginning to outpace inflation, and health care costs for employees is outpacing net income. Devon Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis notes this ominous growing trend. He writes that General Motors spends more on employee health care than on steel (1.1 million workers=$5.6 billion). That's $1,525 per car produced. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz too, has said that his company's spending on employee health insurance (80,000 USA employees=$200 million) exceeds that of coffee bean purchases.
Mike Huckabee, candidate for President, writes, "Health care spending is now about $2 trillion a year, which is close to $7,000 for each one of us. It consumes about 17% of our gross domestic product, easily surpassing the few European nations where spending is close to 10% and far higher than any other country in the world. If we reduced our out-of-control health care costs from 17% to 11%, we'd save $700 billion a year, which is about twice our annual national deficit."
Hillary Clinton, candidate for President, gave a speech not long ago regarding the health care crisis. "We are the richest country in the world and we spend right now, more on health care than anyone else in the world. Two trillion dollars a year. But we're ranked 31st in life expectancy and 40th in child mortality. Each year, 18,000 people die in America because they don't have health care. Let me repeat that. Here in America, people are dying because they couldn't get the care they needed when they were sick. "
Mark W. Stanton, at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services writes that "National health expenditures are expected to reach $2.8 trillion in 2011, with an average annual growth rate of 7.3% from 2001 to 2011. By growing faster than the Gross Domestic Product, expenditures will consume approximately 17% of the GDP in 2011."
What's driving up the costs?
General Price Inflation
Inflation in the prices of medical services beyond general price inflation
Aging of the population
Increased use of health care, especially expensive new medical technologies, by all age groups
What will bring health care spending down?
We will. Each one of us must choose to follow a program which will get us into shape. Doctor Dean Ornish, author of the newly published The Spectrum, founder and President of The Preventive Medicine Research Institute, consults with major corporations, helping them cut their health care costs by developing incentive programs for the employees. A key example is Safeway. With their health care costs exceeding profit margins in 2005, they've seen this trend from the beginning. After instituting Ornish's program, their costs declined by 11% in 2006, and remained flat in 2007.
Dr. Ornish's self-empowering program asks followers to change what they eat and how they live to remain healthier longer. It has even been recognized by Medicare because it's been proven to reverse heart disease. Dr. Ornish believes his program will positively affect many because it reverses diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, chronic conditions, and will even stop or reverse prostate cancer.
In 2006, 1 million plus coronary angioplasties and 400,000 coronary bypass operations were performed, at a whopping total of $100 billion. Between 1984 and 1996, among Medicare beneficiaries, the number of operations increased 543%. Dr. Ornish says that this challenges the sustainability of Medicare.
Each one of us can make a difference in our bodies, our communities, and our government by altering our lifestyle, implementing better food choices, and just perhaps, thinking about our children's future. What we do today individually and as a nation will determine our future.
How To Make a New Year's Resolution.
Keep New Year's Resolutions Going Strong.
Related Article: Who Will Be The Biggest Loser This New Year?
