Update 10/10/08

There’s a growing consensus among Americans that a plan to address America’s economic woes must top the agenda of our next president. When the national debt surpassed $10 trillion, the National Debt Clock in New York ran out of digits, according to BBC News. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to escape a possible economic meltdown could add $1 trillion to that figure, reports Politico.

With these facts in mind, government officials, business and health leaders, and the public must increase efforts to change our health care system. The economy will not recover without innovative reforms, including additional protections for American workers, the unemployed, the poor, the elderly, and the disabled, and an increase in spending on preventive care.

The facts speak for themselves. The cost of health care has been a major factor in the decline of America’s automobile industry. Mustafa Mohatarem, General Motors Corp.’s chief economist, once told an interviewer that the company spent more on health care for its employees than it spent on steel to manufacture its cars. Those expenditures added approximately $1500 to the cost of each car and made the company unable to compete against challengers from other countries.

Because of these costs, automobile manufacturers and other businesses have reduced or eliminated health care benefits for the majority of their employees and laid off thousands of other workers. Former employees lose access to health care unless their spouses remain employed at jobs that provide coverage. Programs that administer services for the poor, elderly, and disabled also have increased deductibles and co-pays for recipients.

Additional economic challenges are reducing the ability of Americans to replace lost coverage with individual policies or additional funds. Their health suffers without access to adequate care. Costs skyrocket when these same citizens go without care until problems related to their illnesses multiply. If they can’t afford to pay the full cost of services when they finally seek treatment, providers pass their losses on to insured patients, which helps drive up costs.

The majority of these health care dollars are spent on treating chronic illnesses. Nearly one in two Americans, approximately 133 million, has a chronic illness, according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Johns Hopkins University. Eighty percent of these illnesses are preventable and comprise about 90 percent of health care expenditures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Reesearch studies have connected many chronic illnesses with improper nutrition, lack of exercise, insufficient water intake, inadequate sunshine and fresh air, overeating, abuse of alcohol and drugs, lack of rest, and too much stress. Layoffs meant to save money and increase productivity among remaining workers have led to longer work hours, erratic schedules, and an increase in these disease-causing factors.

The Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company, has discovered policies that make allowances for the human limitations of its workers increase profit margins. Employees enjoy frequent breaks, flexible schedules, onsite recreation, yoga classes, and unlimited vacation and sick days. Best Buy has developed some of these policies. These Results Only Work Environments (ROWE) have reduced health care costs and increased employee retention.

An increase in spending on preventive care, which should include the services of alternative medicine providers and health educators, could reduce those costs even futher. Prevention is a recognized specialty in the medical profession. It focuses on educating patients about the effects of poor lifestyle choices and detecting the early stages of disease. Alternative providers, through knowlege of how the body’s different systems work together, can often detect disease factors before they appear on medical tests. They also sometimes halt the progress of existing diseases or reverse them even in advanced stages. Health educators communicate the importance of these principles to the general public.

The gravity of this country’s economic situation calls for bold new measures. A plan for addressing our health care woes can free capital for economic expansion and jumpstart our economy.

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Jacqueline L. Jones is author of Unmasking a Diagnosis: How to get Help for a Confusing Chronic Illness Without Filing for Bankruptcy. The book is available through Lulu.com and will be available early next year through Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

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