In 2006, the total cost of health care in the United States was 2.1 trillion dollars, which is more than the gross national product of China. Yes, we spend more on
healthcare than China spends on everything.
We’ve all heard that the war in Iraq costs the U.S. taxpayers about $10 billion per
month, which is $120 billion annually. That means we are spending close to 20
times more on health care than we are on the war in Iraq. In fact, we spend more
on healthcare than the entire defense budget. A big chunk of our taxes go to
health care spending, and we’re not even doing a very good job at it given that 47
million Americans are still uninsured.
Here’s the real kicker, 70 to 80% of health care dollars are spent treating chronic
preventable illness. Yes, preventable. If we all chose to live a little healthier,
basically, eat better and exercise more, we could save so much money as a nation
that we could afford to invade another country, maybe Canada.
The Obama - Biden administration is inheriting a lot of problems, including war and a
financial crisis. As everyday citizens, it’s difficult to influence policies that will help
remedy these situations. Not to mention that most of us (me included) would have
no idea how to fix them anyway.
However, every one of us has significant control over our own health, which is the
largest drain on our economy. So, can you lower your taxes by going for a walk -
probably. According to a talk I attended recently by Emanuel Ezekiel, the Director
of the NIH Bioethics Department, approximately one third of most state taxes
support healthcare. Not to mention the obvious burden on employers, which
translates into reduced wages for employees.
So…what can we do to lower our taxes? Live with greater attention to our personal
health.
If we choose to continue to ignore health issues, it may actually cost us
significantly more. In 2011, Alabama will begin charging state workers who fall into
the obese category an extra $25 for the health coverage. Since Alabama has one
of the highest obesity rates in the country, with nearly 1 out of 3 folks packing on
those kind of pounds, that’s going to sting. I don’t really agree with this approach
and I think it will open up all kinds of legal challenges. However, the fact that one
state is going down this road should be a wake-up call to us all.
The bottom line is that our health care crisis is getting out of control, but is largely
within our control. Politicians spend big chunks of their time trying to figure out
how to deliver more care to our citizens. But wouldn’t this attention be better
spent trying to figure out how to stop so many people from getting sick in the first
place? Maybe we should stop looking to the policy makers for answers and take our
health into our own hands. Maybe it’s time for a little personal responsibility.
We will always have illness. Even if we did everything right, some folks would still
get sick. That’s just the nature of our biology. But it seems to me that an 80%
reduction in illness, which is what a better diet and more exercise could do, and
which translates into a savings of about 1.6 trillion dollars a year, is a no-brainer.
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Contributor's Note
Dr. Simon Evans is a brain scientist at the University of Michigan interested in lifestyle approaches to brain health and fitness. He is the author of BrainFit for Life: A User's Guide to Life-Long Brain Health and Fitness. Visit his website at http://www.brainfitforlife.com
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This intel first appeared on: http://brainfitforlife.com/blog/can-walking-reduce-your-taxes/
