True Reform

There are three areas that need clarification: Healthcare, Health Insurance and Health. These three terms are often used interchangeably, but they are very different from one another. Despite the recent conversations around all of these areas, the focus has been quite uneven. We all know what these terms mean. I just thought it was time for a refresher:

Health: our state of being in good condition, what we all want and need to live the
lives we want

Healthcare: the service that takes care of us and keeps us in this condition or
brings us back to the condition of health

Health insurance: the coverage that insures us access to such care

The reason these three areas keep coming up in conversation is the fact that they are all sources of great pain. In the US today, we are spending a lot of resources trying to fix a broken system. We have seen problems and have started to work on solutions. This is a good thing, but I think we should spend a little more time in one of the categories before we think we have a fix for the other two.

Don’t get me wrong. I agree that there are some system issues that can be improved. I’m glad we are working on solutions, but I have one major problem with the current conversation: none of the proposed solutions address health as a way to fix healthcare or health insurance.

So which category is being neglected? The same category that has led us down our current path: Health. There is a reason the word health is in the title of the other two categories. Health is the root of the problems we are dealing with.

What is the problem exactly? Well, for starters, going back to the definitions above: healthcare is there to provide us with medical tools and service to maintain our health. Health insurance is simply in place to provide coverage so that we can pay for such service when we need it.

Why do we need healthcare or the coverage to pay for it? Because our health is not what is should be. Clearly, we only use healthcare and health insurance to improve our health. When there is a problem with health, we use healthcare. Health insurance helps us pay for that care. The end goal is to bring back or keep health. That is why we see the doctor. The hospitals, clinics, specialists and all healthcare professionals are in place to keep us healthy or to care for us when we are not.

We can talk about the system and how care costs too much. We can conclude that with rising cost of care, insurance will also be high. This makes perfect sense. However, we fail to mention that health is at the root of it all.

Why should health be included in the solution to healthcare or health insurance? Because, we have more control over our own health than we have over a complex system like healthcare or health insurance. Our health (or lack of care for it) is what
broke our system in the first place.

Now, this isn’t all bad. In fact it can be a good thing if you can look it from my perspective.
Think about this as a reform plan:

- Everyone takes care of their health and proactively keeps themselves in good
condition

- We need less care for chronic conditions and other preventable diseases
while doctors can offer preventative options rather than reactive techniques
that act as band aids for wounds caused by lifestyle abuse.

- The system will not be overrun with procedures and medications

- Premiums that you and I pay for our insurance coverage is more than enough
to cover the amount of care we need. The money we pay for this for this
care becomes cheaper, causing the insurance rates to come down with them

The most beautiful thing of all is the fact that by improving our health, we are fixing the system. That is the only way healthcare reform will work. Health reform has to take place first. It has to become the responsibility and continue to be a priority for us all.

Any other solution involving care and insurance will break just like our current system if we don’t add health to the equation. No matter how efficient, low-cost or state-of-the-art a new system is, if we continue to overuse, abuse and depend on it to fix years of misuse and neglect (of the system and ourselves), it will fail. The system will break and it will fail.

I know that we all want to be healthy. I also know that we want to feel secure in the quality of care we receive and we want all of this at a reasonable cost. I believe that no one should be without access to care. I also believe that no one should lose their house because of medical bills. No matter what your ideal solution looks like, I think we can all agree that as a world power, we should be healthy and well-taken care of.

While many if these issues are being debated in the care or insurance setting. We must remember one thing: Our health is the biggest factor in this equation. Health is the root of it all. The worst part of this: we are the biggest factor in our own health, which means we are the reason that reform is needed. The best part about this: we are the biggest factor in our own health, which means we are the biggest factor in health reform. That’s right; you are the key to solving the national healthcare crisis. By solving (or hopefully simply avoiding) your own personal health crisis, you are preventing the nation’s health crisis.

I’ve heard from doctors who have stepped up as healthcare advocates. I’ve heard from and work with insurance brokers who continue to be insurance advocates. Both of these groups have come together in many ways across our great nation. The work they are doing is making a difference and will help us move forward.

We’ve got advocates for healthcare and for health insurance, but there is still something missing. Who is an advocate for health? I consider myself a health advocate. I fully accept my responsibility to not only care for my own health, but also to help others maintain a healthy lifestyle.

By doing this we are avoiding many costs and burdens on our system as we prevent chronic diseases. We are avoiding the expense and complications of surgeries and medications. We are even showing the next generation a new way to manage health, healthcare and health insurance.

I can’t do this alone. I will continue to give it everything I’ve got, but I need others to do the same. Each and every one of us has control. You have the solution to the healthcare crisis. The solution is solving the health crisis. That is not a solution that needs to come from Washington. It is not a solution that you’ll find at your doctor’s office or hospital.

The solution is you. By managing your own health, you will solve the problem. Health, healthcare and health insurance come up in the same conversation and are often even used interchangeably. The most important lesson for us all is that we they are not the same. While all three of the areas we’ve discussed are related and are key components to the system. We need remember the root of the system is health - Your health.