The Health Care Reform We Need
With all of the talk and debate about what our government should do to reform the current health care system, I thought I would finally weigh in. I sat out for a while because I felt I needed to be well educated on the measures they are proposing before I spoke up but I realized that if I did this I was, in a way, validating that there was a need for government intervention. Our health care definitely needs reforming but I do not believe that there is any reason for our government to spend billions of dollars to do it.
Throughout the history of our nation the responsibility has always fallen to the people first. When we felt the need to be an independent nation, the people stood up and acted, more times than not giving up things that were dear to them. Even when the government passed civil rights legislation it was ultimately up to the people to rise above their prejudices. In the same way I think it is up to the people to reform health care by reforming themselves. This is the health care reform we need: take care of your health.
I watched the last season of The Biggest Loser and witnessed a man over 50 lose more than just a lot of weight. He also lost most of his physical ailments and, in turn, all of the medication that went along with them. All because he started taking care of himself, eating right and exercising regularly. I think this proves the power the individual has over our health care system. Think of the cost associated with the doctor visits and medication this man took because of self inflicted health conditions. And all this from reversing a destructive lifestyle. Think of the cost saved by being taught and living a healthy lifestyle to begin with.
And this is just one area. Think of all the sexual diseases and abortions (and the costs associated with them) that could be avoided by implementing good sexual health practices. Or the cost that could be saved by people not smoking. The list goes on and on.
We live in a society that promotes free choice, but with that choice comes responsibility. When we make decisions that adversely affect our health, we don’t need the government to step in and indirectly support those decisions. That is what a nationalized health care system does. It says, “You can make all the bad decisions you want and the person who made good decisions (and can still work) will pay for them.”
We don’t need government intervention. We need people who are concerned enough that they will stand up, think about their future, and make decisions that will have a positive effect on their health. It seems that we are all about a healthy planet these days but we can’t take ownership of our own health. Think of the cost saving that would occur if we would just learn to exercise some self control. Take care of your own health and you will take care of the growing health care system problem.
Brian
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3 Comments
As much as I do believe the government has a duty to protect its citizens (and with that, their health), your post was very thoughtful and well-written. I may disagree with you on some points, but yours is perhaps the best argument I've seen yet.
We need GOVERNMENT REFORM, not health care reform.!
I could not agree with you more Brian. It’s amazing to me that people want to live their lives the way they want to and when it doesn’t turn out right they want others to take care of them. Then the people who do take care of themselves can’t afford to pay when they get sick with something they couldn’t do anything about… all because the “system” is getting sucked dry by the other people. Blows my mind.