Why are we so sick?

[catherine]

Just saw on the news related to the upcoming debate to repeal Obamacare that 129M people have pre-existing conditions.

That is almost HALF of the entire population of the United States!

I am not pointing fingers and saying that if you're sick it's your fault. BUT I think there is something wrong if almost every other person in this country has some disease or condition that requires medical care.

I will say that, iMHO, if there's blame to go around, it's the disease-promoting culture that we've devolved into. It's so frustrating. How can we reduce healthcare costs on one end if we are going to maintain a culture that makes it too easy for people to engage in lifestyles that are literally killing us??

[Bastelmutti]

I'm sure we could be healthier, but the pre-existing condition thing is a crock to make sure the insurance companies don't have to pay. Mine is a kidney infection that I had at the age of 22. My kidney function was thoroughly tested & found to be fine. This has caused no problems in 20 yrs., but god forbid I ever have a kidney problem.

[catherine]

Bastelmutti, I'm a bit embarrassed--I didn't think about it that way. Of course, I get it now.

As Gilda Radner/Emily Latella used to say: Never mind!

[Mrs. Hermit]

My pre-existing conditions are related to a genetic glitch, a birth defect. I probably would not have survived to the grand old age of 50 in "the old days" before so many interventions were possible. Survivors like me up the stats. The same medical capability that helps us survive has been able to capture, bag and tag so many more problems that people used to just endure; and like Bastelmutti said, those become "pre-existing conditons". That ups the stats. Then there is the whole question of how pre-existing conditions/diseases are defined. For example, what was a "normal" weight pre-1980 is now considered "overweight" because the definitions (the recommended weights) have changed. Change the definition, and BINGO!--1/3 of all Americans have a weight problem. And that is just one example of the "disease by definition" crisis that ups the stats.

[Float On]

Any little thing that you ever had treated - is pre-existing.
I had a rider placed on my insurance because I used one dose of a fertility drug.
My son had a rider placed on our insurance when he was 10 because I took him to the Dr one time for an RX for seasonal type allergies.
My other son had a rider placed on our insurance because he was treated for ringworm, I think they labeled it 'infectious fungal condition'.
My husband.......because he went to the Dr because of his back - once -now has a chronic back pain rider.
It's no wonder we dropped our health insurance when we couldn't afford the premiums nor the $5000 per person deductable anymore. If we'd gone to the Dr for anything they would of claimed it as pre-existing!

[treehugger]

I'm lucky to be very healthy and yet I have a major pre-existing condition, so major that I dare not to ever be without health insurance at the risk of not being able to get it again. I am a kidney donor.

[bae]

- improved medical knowledge and diagnostic techniques
- lowered infant mortality
- increased lifespan, "old age" now treatable in many cases
- increase expectations of "health"
- insufficient exercise, poor diet, stress

[Crystal]

Back to the OP, and aside from the whole 'pre-existing condition' scam, people in the 'old days' had conditions too. They had cancer and arthritis and obesity. They lived on farms and ate a dozen eggs and a bunch of bacon for breakfast. They died in childbirth. Children died young. Several things strike me as very different now. Business has lured us off our farms and away from our land to work in cities. The natural exercise of farm work has been replaced by cubicle work. The fresh-from-the-garden food has been replaced with pre-packaged crappola with zero nutritional value. Fresh air has been replaced with recycled air. Chemicals pollute our air, water, and food. Health, food, weight and exercise ads are specifically targeted to try to make us feel anxious. Seems to me that our national issue is not health, but the pursuit of the almighty dollar. (same ol', same ol')

[Bastelmutti]

Bastelmutti, I'm a bit embarrassed--I didn't think about it that way. Of course, I get it now.

As Gilda Radner/Emily Latella used to say: Never mind!

I think that's the main point here, but some problems have definitely increased - think food allergies and other types of allergies, autism/Asperger's, celiac, etc. Who knows if it's better diagnostic tools/more acceptance, or some aspect of our modern lives. Probably some of both.

[redfox]

I am beginning to suspect that being alive is a pre-existing condition! I certainly hope that what we have as health care reform is kept - but I hope some day to have a single payer system, and am glad to pay the taxes for it.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Yes, every little thing is a pre-existing condition. Often doctor's don't even know what's wrong with you but they take a guess. I've had a doctor say "I'd rather not prescribe that medicine, I don't think your issues are that bad, and if I prescribe it you'll now have a pre-existing condition on your record" (!) Well I'm grateful for that doctor, for his integrity in forewarning me, and caring about my future insurability and not just pulling out the prescription pad. But what a joke the whole system is really.

I do think we are sicker, but I don't think that's the main thing driving the "pre-existing conditions". Heck, I even think we have more chronic diseases like cancer and so on. The food is junk, the environment is poisoned, the lifestyle is stressful and unnatural. Geez, what's wrong with modern society? :~)

[CathyA]

Alot of our illnesses have to do with how and what we eat, and how we live. But.....just remember that in this "advanced" medical environment, conditions that would have killed a person earlier, are being treated now. People with predispositions to certain medical problems are treated and then they have children who might have the same conditions. We try to keep everyone alive and in a healthy, normal state of health. Not many people live 70-80 years without some type of medical intervention along the way.........which would probably be termed a "pre-existing condition".

[pinkytoe]

I think there are two things going on - over-treatment and illness due to modern lifestyle. Without labeling something as a condition or a disease, doctors cannot prescribe procedures and medications which has turned into a huge business. Somewhere along the line, it became OK to take pharmaceuticals for everything under the sun. On the lifestyle front, diabetes as an example has grown by leaps and bounds. People sit more than they move and their diet is often horrible. There are a lot of practitioners out there that believe and have proven one can "cure" some conditions through diet alone.

[freein05]

You must remember that health insurance is a business. Health insurance companies look for ways to cut the cost of running their business and by refusing to cover people with preexisting conditions is one method. I am not sure but I would bet that if you looked back 20 or 30 years you would find that preexisting conditions were not such a big deal especially when the majority of health insurance companies were not for profit. Remember Blue Cross and Blue Shield were not for profit until Wall Street discovered there was money to be made in the health care industry.

[redfox]

You must remember that health insurance is a business. Health insurance companies look for ways to cut the cost of running their business and by refusing to cover people with preexisting conditions is one method. I am not sure but I would bet that if you looked back 20 or 30 years you would find that preexisting conditions were not such a big deal especially when the majority of health insurance companies were not for profit. Remember Blue Cross and Blue Shield were not for profit until Wall Street discovered there was money to be made in the health care industry.

Absolutely. It's a basic flaw in the design. Service delivery is seriously compromised when profit and basic human needs are connected. Ditto with food, education & housing.

[JaneV2.0]

The only people who don't have "pre-existing conditions" are healthy children and adults who haven't been to a doctor lately. We aren't "killing ourselves" any faster than our ancestors did, but the notion makes for scary headlines, and fear sells products. My long-standing philosophy is that illness happens at the intersection of genetic makeup and stress Paying too much attention to scary headlines can be dangerous to your health.

[IshbelRobertson]

I'm grateful to live in a country with an NHS (national health system) - this means that all illnesses are treated at the point of need without having to pay anything extra (of course, we do pay, via our taxes and other deductions). I am thankful I never needed to worry about changing a job which was reliant on health insurance.

Interestingly, I went to Australia last year, and took out extra insurance (which I did not need as we in the UK have reciprocal health cover with Australia) but which my husband wanted me to take because of so-called pre-existing conditions. it cost nigh on 600 GBP - and I didn't use it! I won't be doing that on my next trip, that's for sure.

[iris lily]

Have they increased? Or has the incidence of diagnosis increased?

My personal opinion is that if you go to the doctor he/she will find something wrong with you. That's their training. oy vey.

I am kinda, for the first time ever, thinking of going to some sort of alternative doc. Just thinking about it. Kicking it around.

[SoSimple]

Ah, my favorite topic. I've had miscellaneous things crop up over time, but for whatever reason (probably the quirks of the laws in the state I was living in) none made it onto any individual policy as something that wouldn't be covered. Now, however, as I'm sure everyone is sick to death of hearing about from me, I have a major, chronic, "pre-existing condition" that not only would get me a rider in most states in the individual market, but would prevent me getting health insurance at all in many states on the individual market (although I may get into most states' high risk pool).

To my mind, insurance is simply the wrong economic model for providing health care.

[flowerseverywhere]

My pre-existing condition that would put me in a high risk pool is depression. 25 years ago my parents suddenly died and I was responsible for not only my young children but my siblings, and they left little but liquor store bills. Well Duh... I function quite well now thank you and launched everyone out of the nest into independence.
At the time I did take anti-depressants but I don't think anyone with a brain in their head would fault me.

when the bottom line is money people get ugly. You don't think some insurance executive is going to give up their big bonus to insure someone like me?

[ljevtich]

The fact that my insurance only WORKS when you are sick is a major indication of what is wrong with health insurance. If I am healthy and go in for a preventative checkup, I have to pay in full! But if I cough, cough, say I am sick and can you please do a full blood test on me to see what is going on, then they will pay. SO I have to lie to get the insurance to pay for my doctor visits.

But if I do not have health insurance, and then decide that I want health insurance, they can deny me coverage, because I did not have it for however long it is. I am basically throwing away money because I am not sick. It is an extremely STUPID system.

BTW, for those that have allergies at one time or another, and is considered "pre-existing" I managed to get that taken off, when I stated that I had not gotten the prescription in over a year (I stocked up big time!) and it was mis-diagnosised. I stated that it was just a one-time thing and that I do not have allergies anymore. I still have allergies, but I use more natural remedies and occasionally take over the counter allergy medicine instead.

Now I pay $1200 a year for only 10 office visits of the emergency and cough, cough, I'm sick, can you look at me? I state to the doctors that the only way I will come in is if they can put this as urgent care/emergency. That way the insurance will pay. Sad but true.

[winterberry]

I am beginning to suspect that being alive is a pre-existing condition!

Well, it is! Very few of us will die in our sleep at a ripe old age having never been sick a day in our lives. I'm with you on the single payer system, too.

[mira]

I've only ever bought health insurance when travelling to the States. My relatively minor 'pre-existing condition' added a hefty amount to the final cost. The whole system just seems so ridiculous. You can't insure health like you insure drivers. Profit before people - what a great way to operate a service that everyone will require at some point!! I just find it unfathomable. As if being unemployed or ill weren't stressful enough, you've got the added bonus of not being able to get medical treatment! How wonderfully selfish capitalism can be.

[kib]

It is all crazy. We are pushed and pushed and pushed (and sometimes we push our doctors) to take pharmaceuticals rather than adjust our diet or lifestyle, and then dinged as having "pre existing conditions" if we reluctantly agree to Ritalin or Lipitor or Prozac or Prilosec or Coumadin or insulin or even Viagra.Of course there are people who have ailments which truly can't be controlled without medication, but five out of every six 60 year olds are on some sort of ongoing drug therapy, which is basically the primary red flag for existing condition.

The for-profit insurance model is just plain wrong, and the for-profit drug model doesn't exactly blow my skirt up either. Combine the two and then let them play good cop bad cop with our health and wallets? What a stellar idea. >:(

And Float On, I Know! Aargh. What stupidity. They could prevent so much of the really expensive disease they wind up covering, at 10% the price or less. Short sighted greed.

[Tammy]

... what was a "normal" weight pre-1980 is now considered "overweight" because the definitions ...

same scenario with blood sugars and cholesterol. from 126 to 105 as definition of diabetes. and from 250 to 200 as definition of high cholesterol. both of these changes were in the last decade or so.

it enrages me how they can just change the numbers like that, and then scare people with them.

[Tammy]

Have they increased? Or has the incidence of diagnosis increased?

My personal opinion is that if you go to the doctor he/she will find something wrong with you. That's their training. oy vey.

I am kinda, for the first time ever, thinking of going to some sort of alternative doc. Just thinking about it. Kicking it around.

the reason they need to give you a diagnosis is that they can't be paid without attaching a diagnosis to the visit.

it's not the doctor's fault --- it's the for profit model of our larger systems, with most blame going to health insurance companies who require a diagnosis for every visit, and then use that diagnosis to say it's pre-existing.

[Tammy]

... but would prevent me getting health insurance at all in many states on the individual market (although I may get into most states' high risk pool).

To my mind, insurance is simply the wrong economic model for providing health care.

I agree with you, as it pertains to the individual market. however, any large employer must take on everyone who buys their insurance, so if you work for a larger company you are covered.

this leads to an entirely different problem, in that people feel enslaved by their jobs in order to get healthcare.

I've noticed that if I have a choice, the feeling is completely different, even if I still choose the same thing. for example: I've worked where vacation days could be denied, and I've worked where they are always approved. In both cases I tend to take the same amount days off each year, but in the first scenario I feel like a slave.

This also applies to insurance. I think I would still work for a large company even if our health insurance were nationalized. but it just feels different when I have to.

[HappyHiker]

I will say that, IMHO, if there's blame to go around, it's the disease-promoting culture that we've devolved into. It's so frustrating. How can we reduce healthcare costs on one end if we are going to maintain a culture that makes it too easy for people to engage in lifestyles that are literally killing us??

Catherine, your question above in your original post concerns me, too. Our culture places a premium on treating diseases after we get them (and then only the symptoms and not the root cause), rather than preventative health care. Those who eat wisely are often derided as "granola crunchers."

Not only are many of our packaged foods promoting un-wellness, there's little public outreach on education to reform our consuming too many of those fatty, salty, chemical brews known as junk, snack or prepared, convenience foods.

"Eat more fruits and vegetables" is pitifully short on showing us/educating us how to incorporate healthy foods into our daily meals. And many of us don't know the simplest, most basic cooking methods other than shoving something in a plastic tray into the microwave.

Why are we so unhealthy? I think it's because it's highly profitable for several industries to have us be that way.

It's almost as if we're led down the path to illness and then hooked into taking prescribed medications.

Sad, isn't it? S.A.D.=The Standard American Diet.

[Glo]

I totally agree with Chrystal; and like redfox, I'm willing to pay for a single-payer system. I'll be 64 in a few days and dropped my health insurance in June when the premiun reached $1,000/month with $5,000 deductile. I do have pre-existing condition but am never sick. One more year until medicare!