The health care issue is mis-framed – the real issue is not health care or health insurance it is health.
Elaboration: the debate is all about maximizing health care and maximizing health insurance but the real aim should be maximizing health. Health care and health insurance account for only 10% of what drives health. The real drivers are behavior and the environment. We should focus on the 90% not the 10%. Why don’t we? Let’s keep it simple. But not too simple.
First, the big health care players are health care companies and health insurance companies. Guess what? They are seeking to maximize their revenues. As they should. Problem:
Maximizing health actually reduces their revenues. Oops. We are patsies in a game
we don’t understand.
Second, we don’t want government messing with our behavior and our environment.
We’d prefer that government give us stuff. And have someone else pay for it.
More health care and more health insurance sounds good.
Third, politicians want to make us happy. They make us happy by promising more
stuff. The politician’s dilemma is simple: tax, lose votes, spend, get votes.
Not really a tough decision. No wonder our health care liabilities keep rising.
And no wonder the costs are hidden.
What do you think?