Take Care of Me

The House and the Senate are currently working on a health care bill that can reform the current system and bring down the costs of health care for families. There are likely areas of health care reforms that are needed, such as to making the medication selection use cost-benefit analysis and other measures that can help that system not produce so many of those horrible stories that become the basis for movies like John Q. I buy that.

However, from what I have read, the conversation about health care seems to be completely one sided. I haven't heard anything that suggests how Americans can begin demanding less health care. After all, medicine has become iconic and ubiquitous in America. It is the cure-all. Indeed, it seems many in our society have convinced themselves of their right to live until 85 while maintaining sedentary lifestyles full of physical, mental, and emotional gluttony. For some people, medicine--in all of its modern varieties--reconciles the need to "feel full" and the need to feel "normal".

So, if health care is to be reformed and aided by the government, I would hope that prices don't become too low. I would hope that the costs are just enough so that people have incentives to take care of themselves rather than medicate themselves. I hope they cost enough to encourage jogging in the mornings rather than filling out another ambiguous prescription. I hope that the cost is high enough to encourage parents to recreate with their kids rather than let them fall into childhood obesity and/or diabetes. I hope that Congress knows that extending the all of the miracles of modern medicine to anyone for any reason large or small may be precisely what Americans don't need.