BLOG 185 THE BUSINESS OF DISEASE
Sickness and disease are part of our life here on earth. Life can forever change when diagnosed. We know that as we age, our bodies become more vulnerable as our time here on earth has allowed for body to develop illness. But there is a whole other side to the tragedy of disease, and that is the business, money making industry of medical care. We are victims of this system. Let me further explain.
We are trained to set ourselves up for the aging process. We make sure our retirement will cover health care costs. We set up life insurance…. but isn’t this really death insurance?? We set up health care…. but isn’t this really disease care?? For medical companies, this is all just business…. nothing personal. Prozac alone is a billion dollar making pill. Here are some of the latest totals I found for what people are spending: “That means that, last year, the average family paid $9,996 for coverage alone, and, if they met their deductible, a total of just under $18,000.Meanwhile, an average individual spent $3,852 on coverage and, if she spent another $4,358 to meet her deductible, a total of $8,210” (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/23/heres-how-much-the-average-american-spends-on-health-care.html).
Our sense of fear causes us to adhere to health advice that is very costly. We live in a world of modified food that has made us sick. The government backs these large companies. We are eating genetically engineered food which has led to an increase in obesity and diabetes. This has created an entire market for genetically engineered insulin, which has dollar signs written all over it. Stress levels are through the roof these days for people, putting them as risk for physical and psychological problems (again dollar signs). With age we accumulate waste over time in our bodies. Our cells degenerate and regenerate over and over again, and if we aren’t healthy enough, at some point our bodies fail at this cycle. Sadly, humans think that living healthy is boring. Smoking and the enjoyment of fat ridden foods brings pleasure. And the disease business preys on this.
More and more drugs are being placed on the market. Prices continue to rise both for insurance and out of pocket costs. Consider this: “U.S. spending on prescription medicines in 2016 increased by 5.8 percent over 2015 levels to $450 billion based on list prices, and by 4.8 percent to $323 billion when adjusted for discounts and rebates. The biggest drivers of prescription growth came from large chronic therapy areas, such as hypertension and mental health” (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/04/us-prescription-drug-spending-as-high-as-610-billion-by-2021-report.html).
Health is a choice. Take care of your body and you will take care of your wallet. The medical industry and quality doctors of course want to help us. Nurses don’t do their amazing jobs for the money. But dollar signs are looming in the shadows of health care. I don’t want to be a skeptic, but if every time I go to the dentist it feels like a sales pitch, it does make you think twice. What you do today counts for tomorrow and years ahead. We can’t erase old damage, but we can do what we can while we can to replace good cells with the bad. That starts with one healthy choice at a time and I’m here to help you.
Reference: “The Business of Disease” (2017) by Sonia Barrett.