Tuesday, April 7, 2009

What is healthcare?

I was listening to educational stuff this morning when a couple of big questions popped in my head that I thought I should start a dialogue with. For you English nuts, I believe I just ended a sentence with a preposition and I should not. OK.....

What is health care and, for that matter, health insurance?

If I ask that to an audience, someone almost always answers, "It's for when you're sick."

If health care and health insurance is only to be used when you are sick, then where does the health come in? Should it be renamed to sick care and sick insurance?

If most MDs are only trained in sickness, then why do we rely on them to manage our health?

What are you doing to prevent your body from breaking down physically, mentally, or nutritionally?

If we waited for our cars' engines to make funny noises before changing the oil, then how "healthy" would our cars be?

If we waited for a toothache to go to the dentist, then how healthy would our teeth be?

Should I wait until my body breaks down before I choose to seek help? If so, would it cost more money to fix a broken down body or maintain a healthy one?

I really look forward to any comments on this one....

1 comment:

Kathryn Merrow said...

Good article! You make good points about sickness insurance. Of course, sometimes we need the treatment of a skilled doctor, but rather than take advantage of our "health care" system, we each need to take advantage of our wonderful bodies to heal when given what they need. We can remain healthy while we grow older, rather than be sick and old, by providing our own "health insurance" by taking care of our wellness needs.