Healthcare crisis in a nutshell

When I noticed the grocery stores were stocking Halloween candy six weeks before the event, I realized that President Obama’s goal of fixing America’s healthcare crisis would be harder than winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
America spends far more, per capita. on healthcare than any other country in the world. Some experts claim it consumes 16 percent of our gross domestic product. The problem is, we aren’t the world’s healthiest country.
In one recent study, the U.S. was No. 28 in life expectancy – about 77.1 years. The tiny country of Andorra boasts a life expectancy of 83.5 years, and many countries – including Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Malta and even Jordan – have longer life expectancies than we do.
It’s easy to blame the lawyers, the insurance companies and the regulators with their endless paperwork requirements for the high cost of healthcare, but in fact, the cause is … us. Any student of economics knows that the laws of supply and demand pretty much determine whether something is expensive or cheap. If there’s a lot of medical care available and little demand, prices for healthcare will go down. If there’s a lot more demand, then healthcare prices will go up.
The supply of healthcare is reasonably fixed. Hospitals take a long time to build, medical schools can only turn out a fixed amount of new doctors and nurses each year, and so on. But the demand for healthcare depends on individuals. In a real sense, much of the demand for healthcare is discretionary.
Consider that, among developed countries, the United States has the highest proportion of overweight or obese adults at 64 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that we spent more than $117 billion on obesity-related health issues in 2000 alone. The United States is, by far, the most obese developed country in the world – even compared to food-loving countries like France and Italy.
If we consider other health-related problems, like alcohol and drug abuse, tobacco use, dangerous driving, domestic violence and unsafe sex, it’s pretty clear we are driving up demand for healthcare. Depending on the expert you believe, between 50 and 75 percent of America’s healthcare costs pay for problems caused by lifestyle choices. These are totally avoidable costs.
Obama knows this, he’s too smart not to. He also knows that he can’t get re-elected if he tells voters we are too fat and too lazy, that we drink and smoke too much and engage in unsafe sex. So, the best he can hope for, realistically, is a few more people covered by insurance, a little reduction in administrative costs and a small, but acceptable increase in taxes. He can’t change our lifestyles, so he can’t make us healthier.
Fortunately, someone in the White House can, because she’s not running for re-election and can tell the truth. Michelle Obama planted an organic garden in the White House, and has school kids come over to harvest the fresh produce, then make and eat lunch. She tells them to get outside and dig in the garden, wash their hands and eat their vegetables. Exercise, common sense and healthy eating – not federal legislation – is the key to reducing healthcare costs.
Even if the rest of the country ignores Michelle’s advice, any individual who does can significantly lower healthcare costs. Sensible eating, moderate exercise and responsible choices can help keep almost everyone out of the doctor’s office, the emergency room, or the clinic – and help solve the healthcare crisis. That would let the president concentrate on actually earning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Steve Gillon is associate professor of business at Kenai Peninsula College.

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