The Ongoing Battle with Healthcare Costs
It may come as a surprise to some, but the United States tops the list of countries with the most expensive health care systems. Health care costs top the scales at 3 trillion dollars, with the average citizen paying $8,157.42 for health-related issues per year. Japan pays half of that, with annual costs at only $3,951.95 per year.
Of course, with skyrocketing health care prices, obviously the United States has the best health care system in the world, right? Not so much. In America, the life expectancy of the average citizen is just under 75 years while in Japan, the average citizen can enjoy a life expectancy of just over 83 years. Do the math; Japanese citizens live about 4 years longer than Americans, and they only pay about half of what Americans pay in healthcare costs.
Even more disturbing is that some of our health care issues are increasing over time. Take child and maternity mortality rates, for example. In 1979, maternity mortality was 10.5 deaths for every 100,000 births, while in 2015 that number rose to 14 deaths for every 100,000 live births.
Spending more annually for health care in the United States should mean that Americans get better health care and a higher life expectancy, but it doesn’t. Doctors, hospitals, health clinics and other healthcare providers have a moral obligation to provide quality care for the best price possible. There are, however, far too many disconnects between what is expected and what is provided in our existing health care system.
Is the Entire Health Care System Flawed?
The easy answer is yes, the entire system is flawed. There are simply too many inefficiencies that lead to over the top healthcare costs, for employers and employees alike. These inefficiencies have roots in many things, starting with insurance companies.
For a chiropractic appointment, for instance, the doctor will need to be “in network” with a participating insurance company. This sounds rather simple, but here is where the disconnects begin. The insurance company will automatically write off certain services the doctor will provide, as per the contract between provider and insurance company. The insurance company sees no problem with this because the doctor will more than make up the difference in gaining more patients who must see him due to the “in network” requirement, in their eyes.
The United States is “Hooked” on Medications
Per the CDC, almost 87% of all healthcare costs in the United States is for mental health or chronic conditions. As a culture, Americans expect that there is a prescription for everything; in fact, medication prescription is the number one reason for all physician office visits.
The United States consumes 45% of all the world’s prescription medication, yet America makes up just over 4% of the world’s total population. This staggering statistic, along with America’s lower life expectancy ranges and outrageous prices paid for healthcare services, proves that medications are not the answer for long term mental health or chronic conditions. If medications were the answer, according to this statistic, Americans should have the highest life expectancy because of their frequent medication and prescription usage compared to the rest of the world.
Of the drugs prescribed, many are harmful opioids prescribed for pain. Without proper counseling regarding the use of narcotic pain killers, patients may become addicted. Addiction is on the rise, and prescription pain relievers are the first step to what can lead, for many users, to a lifelong addiction to heroin.
Of course, there is a place for prescription medications, such as life-threatening emergencies and trauma. That said, the medical community should realize that medication is not always the best way to treat chronic conditions or mental health issues. Type II Diabetics may not need to be on metformin, and depressives may not need Prozac. These issues are not caused by a lack of these medications, they are caused by lifestyle issues that run far deeper than any drug can reverse. Diet, exercise, and management by a professional such as a psychologist, nutritionist, or other therapeutic measures will not only improve lifestyle issues causing chronic disease, it may reverse them altogether. Patients go to medical doctors for treatment; these professionals will give them prescriptions because they never covered lifestyle changes in school as completely as was necessary.
This issue is the next disconnect and inefficiency: Patients will never get proper and complete healthcare if they are given medications for symptoms and not coached on the underlying lifestyle changes necessary to treat the disease.
Healthcare Providers are Often Too Quick to try Invasive and Costly Procedures
The bottom line of the medical profession should always be to try the cheapest, least invasive course of treatment first. If these therapies don’t work, patients can be moved up to more invasive therapies.
Chiropractors, for example, are an excellent first line of treatment for someone with an injury such as a back injury after an accident or while lifting something. If the chiropractor can’t resolve the pain, a second opinion from another chiropractor may be in order since each chiropractor may take a different approach to pain relief and adjustments. If adjustments don’t seem to be helping the patient, the next step would be to see a medical doctor for short term medications, such as muscle relaxers. If the patient is still experiencing problems, the next level will be an orthopedic specialist, or perhaps a surgeon. This is a gradual way for the patient to address the problem. Chances are, the chiropractor will be able to fix the condition and there will be no need for harmful and addictive drugs, or risky surgery. In fact, patients who initially see a chiropractor for low back pain lower their odds of requiring back surgery to 1.5% verses consulting a surgeon first, which will increase the surgery odds to nearly 43%. The patient will save a lot of money in the long run and decrease complications from opioid use or surgery.
Obviously, there are times or injuries that are beyond the scope of a chiropractor, and more invasive treatments are necessary.
The Take Home Meaning for You
For many chronic illnesses, including mental health conditions, patients should always first seek treatment options that are less invasive, like nutritionists, chiropractors and psychologists before looking for invasive, costly treatments that may include surgery and long-term expensive medications. A chiropractor, for example, uses specialized treatment plans including gentle manipulation and soft tissue therapies to get you feeling better faster, more naturally, and for far less money than you might expect so that you can get back to living your best life without drugs or surgery.
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