The Brutal Reality of Health Care Costs and How to Reduce Them

The lack of access to health care for many in the U.S. because of the high cost of health care products and services has been an issue that's been in the media spotlight lately.

I have a lot to say about this topic, and I'm saving the best for last, so make sure to read through the whole article.

 Here's the grim reality...

After World War II ended, American soldiers came home from where they were fighting. They were so happy to be alive, they made roughly 80 million babies.

I'm not quite sure how they did it, but I think it probably has something to do with being happy.

Now those roughly 80 million babies are hitting retirement age, and are starting the kind of health care that people in the retirement age group need.

On top of that, the latest, newest, and best medical diagnostic tools and treatments tend to be the most expensive.

Now tell me, if you had a potentially life threatening illness, would you want the more expensive best treatment, or the cheaper treatment that used to be the best?

You'd want the more expensive best treatment, right?

So do those 80 million babies that were made just after WWII, their 35 million kids, and their 70 million grandkids.

There is no perfect solution.

Here's the insanity of relying on government to provide for you.

Even if Congress and President Obama use a magic wand to poof a health care reform bill into law, it doesn't mean the U.S. government can afford to pay the bills.

The U.S. government is already unable to meet its Social Security and Medicare obligations.

What's going to happen when even more bills are heaped onto what the U.S. government already cannot afford to pay?

It'd be like deciding to buy a car and a boat when you can't afford to make your mortgage payments, right?

If the medical bills do get paid, where do you think the money to pay it is going to come from?

What about the rising cost of health insurance?

Health insurance companies are businesses that provide coverage in case you need health care. In case you didn't catch it the first time, I'll say it again. Health insurance companies are businesses.

Now say it with me. Health insurance companies are businesses.

A business provides a service or product in exchange for money. A business is a for profit organization.

A health insurance company is a for profit organization, and provides the service of  covering health care costs that would be otherwise be difficult to pay all at once in exchange for being paid monthly premiums.

In order to turn a profit, a health insurance company must, collect more in premiums than it pays out in claims.

As more people need more expensive health care services more often, health insurance companies must increase their premiums to compensate for what they pay out in claims.

If your employer didn't pay you enough to cover your costs of traveling to and from work, plus a little extra so you can eat and have a place to live, how long would you continue to show up and provide your services to your employer?

What if your employer wanted you to keep showing up anyway? Even if you wanted to, you'd still have to stop showing up. Wouldn't you?

What if the federal government stepped in and offered to increase your paycheck by 10%, and raise the funds to do this by increasing your taxes by the same amount?

It'd still be a little crazy to agree to keep showing up. Wouldn't you agree?

Here are my solutions.

To start, everyone receiving health insurance coverage should be required to receive an education in nutrition and exercise.

I'm not suggesting that everyone with health insurance should be forced to eat fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, and I'm not suggesting that everyone should be forced to exercise.

I am, however, saying that no one receiving health care should be able to claim ignorance about nutrition and exercise.

My favorite resource for nutrition information is the World's Healthiest Foods website.

I realize that many people have limited information about exercise. You should always consult with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

I'm sure there are other resources, but Kevin Gianni's Live Awesome website provides plenty of information on body weight exercies and home workout routines.

This isn't all there is do exercise and nutrition, but I think it's a good start.  When it comes to educating yourself it's important to learn to see through the marketing fluff of the weight loss industry.

If all Americans ate the recommended 5 - 9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and did 20 minutes of aerobics 3 times per week, what would that do to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer rates?

If the rates of just those 3 chronic illnesses were driven down, wouldn't that have a huge impact on the amount spent by health insurance companies and individuals to manage the illnesses?

What about the stuff mainstream medicine doesn't usually talk about?

Mainstream medicine tends to be slow to adopt new ideas that aren't also profitable. This can be show by the early resistance of mainstream medicine to adopt the practice of hand washing.

I think that most people would agree that while hand washing is an effective method for reducing the spread of disease, it doesn't lead to medical patients purchasing additional prescription drugs.

I think that most people would agree there is a conflict of interest between the business of medicine, and the practice of healing.

This is just a general observation, and isn't intended as an attack on the medical industry.

I have never met a physician who does not want to see his/her patients to get well, and drug companies do provide valuable and needed products.

One thing that mainstream medicine seems to be resisting at the moment, is the use has herbs as medicine.

I use herbs as medicines as part of my own health care. There are an amazing number of herbs that provide medicinal benefits.

However, there are a couple of challenges with using herbs as medicines.

Herbs tend to be much cheaper in cost than prescription drugs. Since herbs as medicines are, in effect, products that compete with the products of pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug companies will fight their use tooth and nail.

Since herbs as medicines aren't high profit items in comparison to chemically engineered drugs, there hasn't been the financial incentive to do the same kinds of research to prove safety and effectiveness as there has been on most manufactured drugs.

Knowledge about interactions between herbs, and interactions between herbs and pharmaceuticals is limited, so mixing herbs and manufactured drugs has the potential to cause dangerous interactions.

Also, just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safe.

However, the German Commission E Monographs is a guide to the use of herbal medicines created by an expert committee put together by the German government in the late 1970's to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of herbs and herb combinations sold in Germany.

This could be used as a starting point for considering the FDA approval of medicinal claims that can be used by herbal supplement manufacturers.

Considering the difference between the cost of prescription drugs and herbal medicines, the widespread, responsible, and intelligent use of herbal alternatives to prescription drugs would provide a dramatic decrease in health care costs for individuals and insurers.

The resource I use the most for information on using herbs as medicines is called The Green Pharmacy.

When considering using herbs as medicines, it is also important to check for interactions.

Using Subconscious Programming and Energy Medicine to Supplement Medical Care

This is what I consider to be the most important and valuable part of this article. I believe that proper nutrition, exercise, and the use of herbs as medicines are ideas that have become relatively mainstream.

I mentioned them before now because I think they cannot be over emphasised as tools for keeping the cost of health care down.

I also want to preface what I have to say here by mentioning that if you do choose to use alternative therapies to help in treating a medical condition, also continue to consult with a medically trained doctor.

That being said, I'll get to the good part.

Subconscious programming is a favorite topic of mine. I was introduced to the use of affirmations in the 2nd grade, when visitors to my class came to talk about affirmations and self talk.

When I was 13 years old, I got to see a stage hypnotist show. I was a boy scout at the time, and at our next meeting, I reproduced one of the tricks used by the stage hypnotist.

There is a line of thinking that suggests our subconscious mind controls all the functions in our bodies, down to a cellular, and maybe even a molecular level.

Medical science tends to see the placebo effect as a problem that makes it hard to determine the effectiveness of drugs and surgical procedures.

What if the placebo effect is simply an example of the power our subconscious minds has to heal our bodies?

The placebo effect is still an effect, isn't it?

In the early 1900's there was a french pharmacist, named Émile Coué, who noticed that when he praised the effectiveness of a medicine, it was more effective for the patient taking the medicine.

He developed a method of using autosuggestion for healing. The main aspect of the method involved repeating the affirmation, "Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better."

He suggested repeating this 20 times after waking up in the morning, and just before going to sleep at night. It is claimed that he had a 93% success rate.

Even if widespread use of The Coué Method only provided the roughly 30% success rate that can be found with a placebo, it'd still provide a dramatic reduction in the amount spent on health care, wouldn't it?

The book, The Practice of Autosuggestion, discusses The Coué Method in greater detail.

There are probably too many forms of energy medicine to discuss in a single blog article. Ones that I have tried, and have received a noticable health benefit from are, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), The Sedona Method, Qi Gong, Reiki, and Quantum Touch.

EFT involves tapping on meridian points in Chinese medicine to remove blockages in the flow of life force energy.

The Sedona Method involves asking a series of questions that aid in releasing stuck emotions. I include it hear because it has an affect that is similar to EFT, and I have experienced a noticable improvement in my health by using it.

Qi Gong is a form of exercise that involves movements, breathing, and focus intended to improve the flow of life force energy.

Reiki is a hands on healing method that involves the channeling of life force energy. The feel of the energy received during a Reiki treatment feels similar to sunshine on a warm day.


Quantum Touch is a hands on healing method that involves a special patterns of breathing and meditation intended to increase the vibrational rate of  the person being healed. I have felt people's bones and tissues spontaneously move into place while using this method.

I also include regular visits to my chiropractor as part of my own health care plan. There is a line of thought that says being out of alignment interrupts the flow of life force energy.

That might or might not be correct, but I will say that chiropractic visits have been able to help in ways that medical doctors have not.

I'm not going to claim that using these tools will eliminate the need for visits with mainstream medical doctors, surgeries, or prescription medications.

However I will suggest that they can dramatically reduce the need to access the products and services available through medical doctors and pharmaceutical companies. This in turn would drive overall health care and health insurance costs down to more reasonable levels.