Is Health Care an Entitlement?

Many feel that health care is an ENTITLEMENT (def: A guarantee of access to benefits because of rights-moral or social-or by agreement through law.) This has unfortunately led to an abdication of personal responsibility and reliance on the health care system to provide for your health irrespective of your behaviors.  Medicine promises more than it offers. Lowering blood pressure, blood sugar, or cholesterol by pills has far less benefit than lowering those parameters by behavior change. The comment, by your physician, that “YOU are CURED” after he opens a narrowed coronary artery by angioplasty, stent or bypass surgery is far from reality.

Many view health care costs as something someone else pays. If health care costs had not been rising significantly year after year, how much might your hourly rate have risen over the past 10 years?

What are the DRIVERS of this increasing cost?

1 Medications – Using the newest “best” ones out there – bloody expensive and potentially hazardous to your health.

2 Getting a CT scan or an MRI for every ache and pain – Very expensive and Hazardous (radiation exposure)

3 Physicians’ role in approaching things via tests, referrals et al is an easy way out.  How long does it take to convince you that you don’t need that costly Rx or costly test?

4 Greater use of services – does Entitlement become Demand?

   I want everything possible done – I’ve got insurance

   I want to see a specialist for this

   I want to go to Brigham and Womens for my tests / surgery etc.  Do you think the community hospital cardiologist was able to do a cardiac catheterization better when in training at B&W then when doing them in a community hospital with 20 years of experience? What makes you think more expensive is better?

5 Why are you seeing the doctor in the first place?

   Cholesterol high at a screening

   Blood Pressure running too high

   Blood sugar now indicates you have diabetes

   Hip hurts

Could these reflect your weight gain, eating the wrong foods, and lack of exercise?  Do you eat out often?  Are you eating healthy foods?  Are you doing daily aerobic exercise?  Are you smoking or drinking too much?  Are you your own worst enemy?

The data begs for lifestyle change to address these issues; not pills and procedures.

The three modalities that should be targeted are:

   1  Activity / Exercise

  2  Healthy Nutrition

   3  Smoking Cessation

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