The First Sane Words . . .

For a number of reasons, I have not paid a great deal of attention to the war of words over "healthcare" reform. Ever since watching one of last fall's presidential debates between Obama and McCain, and the subsequent election of Obama, I have tuned out, for this reason: In that debate, the moderator asked both candidates whether they considered "healthcare" a right or a responsibility. Obama said "right" while McCain said "responsibility." With Obama now in the White House, his view that healthcare is a right is the primary reason I have tuned out of the current debate. That view can only lead to more massive government programs to provide said right while giving citizens an excuse to opt out of the responsibility for creating their own healthful lifestyles.

But I have seen one set of sane words from a Senator that expresses what I believe about America's health crisis—that it is due to lifestyle choices for which we are largely responsible. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa) recently published a paper titled "Fighting Disease, and Remaking America as a Wellness Society." You can read the entire paper (alas, full of proposals for umpteen pieces of legislation) for the details, but the opening paragraphs of his paper are worthy of commendation. I find it amazing that this view has not been heard elsewhere in the debate. Perhaps it has been—as I said, I haven't been listening that much.

Harkin writes:

The wealthiest nation in the world ought to be the healthiest nation in the world. But we're not. In fact, the U.S. ranks a dismal 24th in life expectancy, and we lag on many other health measures, as well.

The problem is that, while the U.S. spends far more on health care per capita than any other country, we spend it unwisely. More than 75 percent of all U.S. medical expenditures are accounted for by chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stress, and depression—man of which are preventable by changes in diet and lifestyle. Meanwhile, we spend peanuts on prevention—less than five percent of health care spending in the U.S. goes toward the prevention of chronic disease. In short, we don't have a health care system in America; we have a sick care system. And this misplaced emphasis on "sick care" is a major reason why there has been a shocking 78 percent increase in family health care premiums since 2001.

In my opinion, we don't hear the words "preventable by changes in diet and lifestyle" coming out of Washington more often because so many politicians' campaigns are funded, and their ears bent, by powerful food and agribusiness lobbyists. It's commendable that Harkin, a senator from one of the breadbasket states in the Union (Iowa), had the courage to print such words. May his tribe increase.