Health reformers and deficit hawks can breathe easier. The Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the country’s first National Prevention Strategy today.

In spite of missteps with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this strategy places much more emphasis on disease prevention. The strategy will involve business leaders, health professionals, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and you. Everyone will play a role in changing the system.

The National Prevention Council will help shape these changes. The council’s 18 members include the Surgeon General and most of the president’s cabinet. Their mission is to develop integrated policies that improve health.

Advisers for the group include pediatricians, the director of the Rural Health Education Network, an integrative medicine professional, and a disability advocate.

Only political partisanship, corporate greed, and your indifference stand in the way of a better, less expensive health care system. Affordable health care is the basis of long-term financial health for your family and the nation.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

The results of my very unscientific survey are in. Next time I’ll try a poll instead.

Though the survey received more clicks than many other posts, only three people responded. The responses were mixed.

Jason Hartig, a caregiver, was never in favor of government-led solutions for problems in the health care industry. He predicted costs would be higher, which would decrease access to care, and that coverage would not improve. So far those predictions have come true for his family.

Hartig, who has private insurance, said his health care costs have increased $130 a month. The letter that announced the change said reform was a factor. The only solution he could find has decreased access to care for his family.

“Changed to affordable plan with a high deductible, which actually makes us less likely to seek health care services because they will not be covered until the deductible is met,” Hartig said.

He also said the family has the same access to preventative services as it did before the changes. Their access to natural care has not increased.

Hartig’s opinion of the changes is naturally negative. He says the law is “onerous on businesses, heavy handed on individuals, bureaucratic, and universal on all except those privileged organizations who get special exemptions.”

Karen Campbell was recently accepted for disability and now has access to Medicare after several years of paying Blue Cross for coverage she didn’t receive.

The other respondent, who chose to remain anonymous, is both a patient and the loved one of a patient. She and her husband have Medicare and TRICARE coverage for miliarty retirees. They haven’t noticed an impact on any aspect of their care.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Ongoing studies by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) show that better diets, regular exercise, and weight control can reduce cancer rates in developed countries by 33% and in poor countries by 25%.

Dr. Lorraine Day believes lifestyle is the strongest weapon against cancer. She was once Associate Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

Day now spends her time sharing the story of how she fought a large breast tumor without drugs or surgery. She says lifestyle changes were her only medicine.

Our leaders can’t afford to ignore these reports. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that cancer costs in the United States alone reached $124.6 billion in 2010. NCI projects that at the current growth rate, those costs could increase 27% to $158 billion in just 10 years.

Health care reform legislation increased payments for preventive care. A system that leans mostly on testing and treatment for established diseases remains.

Without a greater focus on lifestyle changes and prevention, increased access alone can’t reduce the rates, effects, and costs of cancer and other diseases that threaten to bankrupt our country.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Rules to reduce Medicare fraud and apply the savings to ACA have complicated my life. They’ll also cause Medicare to spend more money for my mother’s care. Let me explain.

Mom is a complete invalid. Dad and I care for her at home.

All three of us take dietary supplements and eat nutritious foods that reduce our need for medical care. We’re all healthier than most people with related issues.

Our routine has saved Medicare lots of money. Both parents take far fewer medications than their peers.

Because Mom doesn’t have most of the normal complications for her illness, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered home health to reduce her care until she finally stopped receiving any help from them. Since then we’ve been forced to do almost everything she needs with very little help.

Yesterday home health returned to provide the higher level of service accepted by Medicare because we can’t care for Mom alone. The only alternative is a nursing home, a much more expensive choice for everyone.

Mom qualified for this service more than two years ago, but we learned to survive without it. Eventually the cost of these types of choices will be passed along as higher taxes or cuts to services for all.

So the next time you read one of my rants about voucher programs, don’t think I’m ignorant or mean.

I’m not naive enough to think total deregulation will solve all problems. But too many regulations create as many problems as they solve.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

I thank our lawmakers for attempting to reduce medical costs, but plans from both parties are misguided. Our leaders fight about access. Lack of responsibility is the real problem.

Choices by individuals, business leaders, health providers, politicians and federal agencies work together to increase or decrease health care costs. Everyone shares the blame or benefits.

Preventable chronic disease causes more than 75% of medical costs. Prevention requires making right choices before disease sets in.

When we ignore warnings about behaviors, practices and policies that improve or destroy health, we have no right to complain about the results. We also have no right to pass the bill to others.

As a nation we face two choices: take responsibility for ourselves and others, or continue to pass the buck. If we continue to avoid our responsibilities, no one will be able to pay the bills.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Plans to cut the national debt and repeal health care reform miss the main issue. We can’t pay our bills without people.

Dead people don’t make money, spend money, or pay taxes. Business and public policies in the U.S. kill people.

Policies Force Tough Choices

Some policies overlook bad working conditions; rules that help workers stress their employers.

Even fair employers cut jobs when the costs of regulation and paperwork run too high. These costs can kill or delay the dreams of entrepreneurs who want to create more jobs.

People who don’t have jobs can’t buy goods and services. When demand falls, tax proceeds drop and public employees lose their jobs.

Workers who keep their jobs work more hours. Longer hours leave less time for relaxation, personal business, and family.

Overwhelmed couples feel unable to give children the time and money they need and have smaller families or no children at all. Some seek abortion to protect unborn children from stress that never ends.*

Stress Kills

Uncontrolled stress increases the death rate by 40%, says a study by the late Hans Eysenck of the University of London. But most stress-related chronic illnesses, like heart disease, are expensive because they kill people slowly.

Conditions related to or aggravated by stress cause 70-80% of all doctor’s visits, says “Healthy People 2000,” a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The report also says the $200-300 billion spent on job-related stress each year includes absenteeism, productivity losses, and insurance claims. Private insurers or public programs pick up the tab when someone retires with a long-term disability.

Local, state, and federal governments increase taxes, and businesses increase prices to cover the costs. These bills decrease cash flow and cause more stress for all.

The costs of a slow death are much higher than the costs of a slow life. The national debt and health care costs will plunge when we make choices that reduce our stress. Without dramatic changes, a shrinking number of people will be left to split the bills.

* Note: The above statement was about reality, not my personal beliefs on abortion.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Most media, the Obama administration, and my last post attacked insurance companies for their premium increases since Congress passed health care reform legislation last year.

The New York Times blames the health care bandits who got away.

The Accomplices

As their contribution to health care reform, manufacturers discounted drugs for seniors who hit the Medicare “donut hole.” The “donut hole” costs seniors full price for drugs that total between $2840 and $4500 each year.

In exchange for 50-75% discounts, the Obama administration agreed not to regulate the price of other drugs. Drug companies exploited this agreement.

The Times says these companies recently tripled the number of co-payment cards, coupons, and other discounts they’ve offered to patients since 2006.

The discounts reduce or eliminate patient costs for brand name drugs. Insurance companies absorb additional costs of up to 400%.

These unnecessary expenses threaten to undermine health care reform. Experts agree that there’s no difference between generic and brand name drugs. Both have unpleasant or dangerous side effects. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues new drug warnings almost every month.

But drug makers fight to suppress news about safe, effective natural treatments. Congress, the FDA, and the media blindly support these efforts.

Constant calls for stronger regulation of nutritional supplements ignore unused powers the FDA received through the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DHSEA).

Most manufacturers of legitimate products support DHSEA and welcome FDA attempts to ban dangerous products.

Truth Gaining Ground

In spite of the tough opposition, positive research about natural treatments is gaining ground. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act brings licensed natural care providers into the medical work force for the first time.

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) also has developed a curriculum to teach medical students about complementary and alternative medicine while starting a movement to diminish pharmaceutical industry control over medical education.

Health care reform is moving in the right direction. When consumers understand their choices, the bandits will lose control.

Correction: An earlier version also incorrectly tied cost increases to the new requirement that insurers spend 80-85% of profits on direct patient care. This story on cnn.com attributes cost increases to other factors.

© 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

Efforts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are misguided. Though these new laws can be improved, they are important first steps toward reducing health care costs and increasing access to quality care.

Opponents claim that insurance subsidies and increases to the Medicare and Medicaid rolls will increase costs. They also cite full coverage of preventive care as another new expense. Part 2 of this series deals with the much higher costs of treating advanced diseases that could have been prevented and the economic impact of such care.

For example, the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that lifestyle changes for a patient with Type 2 diabetes cost $1100 per year versus $31,300 for the drug Metformin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several peer-reviewed medical journals also reported that lifestyle intervention for participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program yielded a 58 percent decrease in the risk of diabetes as opposed to 31 percent with metformin. In 2007 the American Diabetes Foundation estimated that 17.9 million people had been diagnosed with the disease, while another 5.7 million had not yet been diagnosed and 57 million had pre-diabetes.

Last year Dr. Margaret Gatz and a team of researchers from the University of Southern California reported a 125 percent increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease in Swedish twins who developed Type 2 diabetes before the age of 65. This year the Alzheimer’s Association reported that 5.3 million people have Alzheimer’s disease. The annual cost for their treatment is $172 billion. Researchers expect that number to triple in the coming decades. Just think how much money early intervention can save in this area alone.

Deficit hawks also don’t understand that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has expanded the definition of the health care workforce. Licensed complementary and alternative medicine providers and integrative health care practitioners are now included in the system. These professionals are experienced in using lifestyle intervention to treat disease.

When coupled with First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to fight childhood obesity and improve school lunches, future medical costs should drop sharply. Obesity and poor nutrition increase the rates and costs of diabetes and related illnesses.

Even as as these reforms have taken shape, insurance companies have taken advantage of the confusion to increase the cost of premiums and fight for higher fees. Do you really feel sorry for executives who need extra cash from you to pay their multi-million dollar salaries?

As anyone with an open mind can see, insurance companies are not interested in their customers. Though I once supported the free-market approach to health care reform, that can only work in a culture that is not based on greed. Without government intervention, health care costs will continue to skyrocket until they destroy the U.S. economy.

Click here to read the summary or full text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Click here to read the summary or text of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Click the appropriate links to read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 of this series.

© 2010 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

This group has determined that the bill includes adequate protections for unborn children and pregnant mothers. Newsweek also reported this week that the leaders of 60 women’s religious orders released a letter urging passage of the bill.

There are many other issues that need to be addressed if we want to strengthen our health care system, but neither party is willing to face reality right now. Just pass the bill and fix it later. Those who think future fixes aren’t possible don’t understand the mood of the country. People are tired of both parties right now.

Judgment day is coming. The policies of Republicans AND Democrats have brought us to this point. They will destroy this country now, in the future, or never. I choose never.

The solution is bipartisanship. A new way of thinking is ESSENTIAL because the assumptions of the past are both right and wrong.

The policies we create no longer affect just us. In this global economy that both parties have created, we either thrive together or descend into total chaos together. We have a choice.

Politicians who think only of themselves need not fear extremists in their parties. ‘The momentum for the next election is with independent voters, who will vote for anyone who gets results, regardless of party. No incumbent is safe.

For more information, check out The Coffee Party, IndependentVoting.org, No Labels, or other independent groups listed in the footer or this site.

Click the appropriate links to read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 4 of this series.

© 2010 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.

• The system we have works just fine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that cases of diabetes in the United States over the next 50 years will increase by 198% without a shift to prevention and early intervention. The Senate bill increases funds for preventive care. This will greatly reduce the need for expensive specialists, who treat advanced stages of disease.
• There’s no evidence that disease prevention reduces costs. The CDC also reports that the cost to extend the life of a patient with Type 2 diabetes averages $1100 per year with lifestyle interventions versus $31,300 with the drug Metformin. Those figures exclude increased tax revenues from people who spend more time in the work force. They also exclude savings from increased productivity and decreased need for disability payments. Diabetes can lead to heart disease, strokes, and other diseases.
• Greater access leads to lower costs. Medical schools don’t teach physicians how to prevent and treat the chronic diseases that drive our health care costs. Physicians who succeed in these areas usually learn the techniques through personal research or continuing education after they graduate. The Institute for Functional Medicine and the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine have developed short, inexpensive continuing education programs that give allopathic (mainstream) physicians, associated professionals, and scientists the skills and tools they need to prevent and treat chronic disease. Their methods are based on proven research. With their help, the current medical work force can be quickly retrained to provide necessary services. This will reduce the need for funds to train new primary care providers.
• Costs won’t decrease without malpractice reform. The shift to prevention should naturally reduce the number of malpractice cases. This should also cause the cost of malpractice insurance to fall without limiting awards for legitimate cases. The number of applicants to medical schools will naturally increase because new graduates will then be able to afford to repay their loans and feed their families.

Click the appropriate links to read Part 1, Part 3, or Part 4 of this series.

© 2010 – 2011, Unmasked Communications™. All rights reserved.