At some point after Jan. 3, when Scott Walker becomes governor, Wisconsin will challenge the constitutionality of the federal law to overhaul the health care system.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has not decided whether the state will join the lawsuit filed in Florida by 20 other states, the National Federation of Independent Business and two uninsured individuals, or file its own lawsuit.

“That work is under way,” Van Hollen said. “I have been in discussions not only with my staff but also with staff of both the Florida AG’s office and the Virginia AG’s office.”

Joining a lawsuit filed by the Virginia attorney general would be more difficult because that case includes legal issues surrounding a state law.

Van Hollen expects to make a decision in the next month or so.

The key issue in the legal challenges is whether the federal government can require people to buy health insurance or fine them for failing to do so.

That requirement is considered essential if health insurers must cover people with pre-existing health problems.

Wisconsin joining the legal challenges to the law would fulfill a campaign promise by Walker while making the state a participant in a historic case almost certain to be settled by the Supreme Court.

“It is the biggest ongoing constitutional law dispute in the country, certainly the one with the most far-reaching effect,” said Andrew Coan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

More than 20 separate challenges to the law, including lawsuits by conservative groups and individuals, have been filed in federal courts throughout the country. And most legal experts agree that both sides raise valid questions.

“This case could be decided either way without overturning any existing Supreme Court precedents,” Coan said.

So far, federal judges have dismissed two of the lawsuits – one filed in Virginia by Liberty University, founded by Jerry Farwell, and the other filed in Michigan by the Thomas More Law Center, a public interest law firm that focuses on defending the religious freedom of Christians, family values and other issues.

But federal judges in Florida and Virginia have denied the federal government’s motions to dismiss the lawsuits by the states.

Van Hollen, a Republican, wanted to challenge the health care law immediately after it was passed but needed Democrat Gov.

Jim Doyle’s approval – and the governor in a strongly worded letter made clear that wasn’t going to happen.

“The State of Wisconsin will not enter into litigation intended to deny health care for tens of thousands of residents,” Doyle wrote in March.

The state also has estimated that the law would save Wisconsin 5 million to 0 million from January 2014 through June 2019 as the federal government picks up a larger share of the cost of insuring residents with limited incomes.

But Van Hollen said Wisconsin should bring a lawsuit to protect the balance of powers between the federal government and states.

“This is an issue that needs to be clarified one way or another,” he said.

If people are not required to buy health insurance, they could wait until they are sick to buy it. Health insurers regularly liken it to being able to buy homeowner’s insurance while your house is on fire.

Subsidies

The health care law provides subsidies for people and families with low to moderate incomes to buy insurance, if they don’t get affordable health benefits from an employer. The legislation specifically notes that people who don’t buy insurance – out of choice or necessity – saddle hospitals and doctors with large unpaid bills that raise costs for people with insurance.

That’s one reason for the so-called individual responsibility requirement.

But the uninsured population disproportionately includes people in their 20s and 30s. Many of them could afford to buy insurance. Economists call them “free riders.” They also tend to be healthy – and their premiums are needed to offset the cost of providing health insurance to people who are sick.

People with health problems who don’t get health benefits from an employer now are effectively locked out of the insurance market in many states because health insurers will not cover them. Changing that is one of the key provisions in the new law.

States can require people to have health insurance; Massachusetts does so now. And the federal government’s right to regulate the insurance industry is clear. The issue is whether that right also gives it the authority to require people to buy health insurance.

Opponents note that the federal government has never passed a law requiring citizens to buy a private product or service or pay a penalty.

Congress passing a health care law requiring people to buy health insurance, opponents contend, is no different from requiring people to buy vitamins or join a gym.

Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C., said no principled limits on federal power will exist if the health care law is allowed to stand.

Economic activity

The legal arguments hinge at least to some extent on whether deciding not to buy health insurance is an economic activity.

Here’s why:

Since the 1940s, the Supreme Court has given broad authority to regulate interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

Those powers, though, are limited to economic activities.

The Constitution, under the Necessary and Proper Clause, also gives Congress the authority to enact regulations needed to regulate interstate commerce.

The Department of Justice contends that the decision not to buy health insurance is an economic decision that affects the entire health care system. It also contends that everyone, even people who are healthy, is part of the health care market.

But Shapiro and other opponents contend this reasoning would lead to a federal government of unlimited powers.

“Everything is an economic decision in some way,” he said.

Opponents contend that requiring people to buy health insurance regulates an economic inactivity.

To Coan, the UW law professor, this isn’t the key issue in the case.

“If Congress needs to regulate inactivity to make its regulation of commerce effective, the Necessary and Proper Clause gives it that power,” Coan said. “That’s how I would analyze the case.”

The federal judges in the lawsuits brought by the Thomas More Law Center and Liberty University agreed.

But Shapiro has noted that there are “many, many rulings yet.”

The lawsuits raise other issues – including complex tax issues – but more legal experts have said the most important issues involve the mandate to buy health insurance.

No one expects that issue to be resolved until 2012 at the earliest.

Deciding what to do

Van Hollen now must decide how to proceed.

Joining other states in the Florida lawsuit would give Wisconsin less control over the direction of the case.

The Florida case also may be too far along for Wisconsin to intervene.

The state also could file a friend-of-the-court brief. That would give it more flexibility in its arguments. It also could file its own lawsuit.

“We, in further analysis, may decide we want to take a little different legal or augmentative tack than them,” Van Hollen said. “There are a number of different considerations and, once again, we’ve got a little bit of time to figure out which ones prevail.”

The cost of challenging the law will depend on whether the lawsuit is handled by his staff and how the state proceeds.

Van Hollen acknowledged people have asked what difference Wisconsin could make in the outcome given the number of lawsuits already filed. But he said a multitude of parties can give a position more legal authority.

“I really do believe it makes a difference,” he said.

Dogs are as complicated as human beings. You can verify the veracity of this fact by asking anyone who has a dog as a pet. It is not just fun keeping a pet though apparently it seems so. It is a tough job taking care of dogs as they are as much prone to various diseases as humans are. It is not just about enjoying its loyal companionship and running around the house. Your dog needs a good deal of attention to see that it remains fit and healthy. It is better if you are informed about various canine health issues before owning a dog. It is just fabulous to have a dog around you but make sure you can afford to support this loyal family member. Dogs are magnificent when they are happy and bursting with energy. They need as much love and care as humans do so it would be great if you spend as much time as possible with your pet. It would also help you to get to know your dog in its normal health so you can determine if your dog is under the weather.

It has been seen that most of the canine health issues are mostly due to lack of healthy dog food and nutrition.

It would be helpful if you are well-aware of the various dog diseases. Keeping your dog healthy and happy would require a lot of effort on your part. It is important to ensure that your dog is getting the adequate amounts of nutrition. It is seen that often dog foods lacks essential vitamins that are so important to fight against various diseases. As any vet would tell you, an adequate intake of vitamins will ensure that your dog leads a full and long life.

Supplying the nutritional needs of your dog is not difficult as you may think. You can give your dog an AAFCO certified food which is recommended as a certified food for dogs by well-known vets. Certified dog food has a lot of the essential nutrients for healthy living balanced by adding a daily supplement. If your canine is suffering from a sickness or any kind of ailment, adding a dog vitamin supplement to its daily diet will boost their immune response in turn leading to a health recovery.

Another vital issue of canine health is what type of water you dog drinks. Many diseases are ruled out if your dog gets clean drinking water. The best way to deal with this is to get your dog to drink the same water as you do. Also ensure that your pet is getting enough exercise as it is vital for its mental and physical health.
 

Safeguarding the health of your family should be top on your agenda in life. This is because, you’re entire future and that of every member of your family depend on sound health. You can’t talk of a better future when the health of your family is n jeopardy. Oftentimes, certain unforeseen circumstances may crop up to ruin the health of your family. If your family is not adequately covered by a good family health insurance company, trouble is bound to showcase. It’s a truism that there are various family health insurance options, but, locating affordable ones is actually the point. Indeed, affordable family health insurance options are available. Let’s examine some of them that can benefit you a lot.

HMO – Health Maintenance Organization

HMO is indeed the most direct option for affordable family health insurance. It’s actually a family health insurance plan that has a network of diverse providers which include primary care doctors, hospitals, specialists, and so on.

This kind of family health insurance plan requires that you and your family should trade some kind of flexibility in order to save cost and also for convenience. There are various HMO networks to choose from. Some are larger than others. It’s always advisable to choose the network where your favorite doctor belongs. He or she will be able to offer some necessary pieces of advice to you.

Guaranteed Issue Family Health Insurance

This is another unique option for affordable family health insurance. It’s actually meant for families that have pre-existing medical conditions. The Guaranteed Issue Family health insurance option covers your family irrespective of the health status involved.

For instance, if you have family members with deadly diseases such as diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and so on, you can always get everyone of them insured with the pre-existing condition. This allows your family to save lots of money.

Life Insurance Option This is a cheap family insurance option that pays out a specified amount upon the death of an individual. This helps the family to continue surviving after the death of the loved one who may be the bread winner. Life insurance is of three plans namely, whole life, universal life and the variable life plans. The terms and conditions vary.

Critical Issue Insurance This is another cheap medical insurance option that pays out a lump sum when your family member has a critical medical condition as may be covered by the policy. Included in this kind of insurance option are cases of critical diseases, injuries, surgeries, organ transplants, and blindness and so on.

Accident Insurance

This is an affordable insurance option that covers accident cases if your family is insured. The two kinds of accident insurance covered include accidental death and dismemberment (AD & D). When any of your family members gets involved in any deadly accident that leads to serious injury or death, you’re sure of adequate support from your insurance company.

In all, there other options for affordable family health insurance such as the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and Point of Service Plans (POS) and so on. It all depends on the insurance company you’re dealing with. You can always locate most of the companies online.

Most of the global market’s sectors have been suffering from the economic slowdown while the health care sector has emerged as a safe environment. Year to date the SPDR S&P 500 ETF increases more than 6%. Meanwhile, the Health Care SPDR exchange-traded fund has been somewhat flat. However, according to analysts, the sector will perform in greatly various ways as businesses have the greatest potential due to innovative devices and new drugs while others’ earnings will take a hit. The following are top health care stocks to buy.

Novo Nordisk (OMX: NOVO B, NYSE: NVO) has become one of the world’s leading companies in diabetes cares. It accounts for 71% of total sales of insulin in China which is one of Asian countries with incidence of diabetes on the rise. Fortune has named Novo Nordisk in the list of 100 Best companies to work for 2010.

 

The Denmark-headquartered company has international production facilities in seven countries.

Perrigo, which manufactures and distributes OTC and general prescription pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and nutritional products, is projected to benefit from its OTC generic drug business. According to Roosevelt Investments Portfolio Manager John Roscoe, the world’s leading healthcare supplier has a 70% market share in OTC store-brand drugs.

 

Perrigo’s primary markets and locations of logistics operations include the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) will benefit from the boom in the generic drug market amid more big companies losing their patents on blockbuster drugs.

 

Missouri-based company is a Fortune 100 company.

Celgne Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) completed its acquisition of Abraxis in June 2010. Besides manufacturing drug therapies for cancer and inflammatory disorders, the company is ambitious to expand the treatment into other forms of the disease. Celgene is expected to outperform its biotech peer over the upcoming few quarters.

 

Celgene and Abraxis BioScience Inc. signed a definitive agreement in June 2010.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, offers a spectrum of services and products through seven operating businesses namely AmeriChoice, UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, Ovations, Uniprise, Ingenix, and Prescription Solutions. The company posted a 2008 net income of billion.

 

UnitedHealth Group is believed to be one of the long-term survivors of the health care reform.

Baxter International Inc. is mainly engaged in manufacturing products to treat kidney disease, hemophilia, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. Its sales reached .6 billion last year.

 

According to Cynthia R. Axelrod, an analyst for Glenmede Investment Management, the stock of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) is driven by the growing demand for plasma.

 

 

Related links:

Providers of Health Insurance Plans See Stocks Soar

Major Stock Picking Strategies

Potential American Monopolies

Every pet owner knows there may come a time when you will need to get emergency care for your pet. Just like accidents happen to people and they need to go to the emergency room at their local hospital, pets might end up needing to visit one as well.

Emergency Vet Hospitals are hard to come by sometimes as it takes quite a bit of money to keep them running. Unlike regular hospitals that people go to, a vet hospital doesn’t get any state or federal funding to keep its doors open. Because of this, not every city will have one that can accommodate all the pets.

As you might not be able to get your pet to a vet hospital, there are other options that you can try. Most vets will be more than capable of handling any type of surgery that they might need to do, but there could be times when you find your local vet is closed for the day.

Vets are very caring people and they will open up for an emergency. In fact, there are plenty of vets that have emergency numbers that you can call if you need to.

You can ask your vet what kinds of medications you can give to your pet to help them until you can get them to the vet. Small amounts of over the counter medications for people can be given to some pets in order to give them a bit of relief. But you have to talk to your vet about the dosages as they are not given for pets. Taking actions like this ahead of an emergency will help you in case something does happen later on, and your vet will do anything they can to help you out when you need it.

As far as paying for an emergency, you can simply take a little extra money to your vet every month and have it added to your account. This will build up a small savings in your account that you can use later on if some kind of emergency pops up. You can also get cheaper treatments if you are more willing to handle some aspects at home instead of having the vet do everything for your pet.

The latest rollout of the federal health care overhaul offers consumers a rebate if their insurers spend too little on actual medical care and too much on administrative costs. Easy To Insure ME has the answers

But Floridians may miss out on the rebates that will start in 2012.

Pressed by the insurance industry, state regulators will soon ask the federal government for a waiver from the requirements, which begin Jan. 1.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation confirmed Tuesday it will request a reprieve until 2014, when the health care law’s coverage guarantees kick in.

In a written statement, the office said enforcing profit limits in 2011 could “disrupt” the insurance market in Florida, where 4 million people are uninsured. Commissioner Kevin McCarty was not available for questions.

The state already is suing to overturn the health care law.

The new requirements are supposed to help increase the value of coverage for consumers and make health insurers “more accountable” by publicly reporting spending and premiums, federal health officials say.

Consumer advocates, such as Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, largely consider the requirements a win.

The idea of a waiver — similar moves are afoot in Georgia, Iowa, Maine and South Carolina — got a tepid response.

“We generally feel the industry does cry wolf,” said Walt Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast. “Our position is generally when we have an issue like this, we’re against the waiver — you’ve got to prove that.”

Essentially, the rules require insurers that offer small group and individual health plans must spend 80 percent of their revenue on care outside administrative costs.

Large group insurers — plans covering 50 or more people — must spend 85 percent of their revenues on care.

It’s called the “medical loss ratio.” If it’s too high, rebates will become due in 2012 in an account credit or payment.

Nationally, 9 million people would be eligible for rebates averaging 4 for individual policies, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Group plan figures weren’t available, nor were Florida rebate values.

The new rules announced Monday apply to 75 million Americans. Self-insured plans aren’t included.

Currently, Florida requires insurers to operate at 65 to 70 percent loss ratios. The insurance office plans to ask for a waiver for the small group and individual markets, though it said it needs at least two more weeks to finish the request. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathy Sebelius would decide whether to grant it.

After months of federal review, insurers won breaks but failed to get a broader array of business costs factored into medical spending. For example, plans with fewer than 75,000 members will get adjustments to help them comply, and ones with fewer than 1,000 members will be exempt from the rebates.

Nearly all taxes can be figured into the ratio, as well as spending to improve health care.

And states can win waivers to use lower rates if they show insurance would be disrupted by higher requirements.

Florida insurance executives complained the tougher requirements will disrupt their finances and limit their ability to insure people.

Without a waiver, some insurers could be forced to lower their rates to meet the threshold or find a creative way to pay for rebates, said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida executive Randy Kammer, a member of the industry-dominated Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board, which endorsed a waiver in September.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, the state’s largest insurer, expects to meet the requirement. A nonprofit, the insurer faces less financial pressure from Wall Street, said Kammer, vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy.

But others face steeper costs. About 45 percent of people nationally who buy their own insurance are in plans exceeding the limits, according to federal officials

An analyst for Citigroup estimated last month that Golden Rule, a subsidiary of United Healthcare, would face .1 million in rebates for its 119,000 insured Floridians, based on 2009 figures.

That’s a 9 average rebate in Golden Rule’s biggest state.

At a Sept. 24 state hearing to gather evidence for the waiver, Golden Rule vice president Mike Corne warned that customers could face fewer options for insurance because of the crunch imposed by tougher profit limits.

Customers, who often seek Golden Rule individual policies absent a workplace plan, could find fewer companies willing to add new policies, and fewer businesses seeking a place in the market, said Corne, arguing for a phased approach.

“We will figure out how to adjust our business model, but I think we would be better off with handling this over time,” Corne said.

St. George Village offers a sense of community combined with superior health care for people seeking senior housing in Atlanta and its surrounding areas. On a personal level, one of t he major issues that seniors living alone have to deal
with is a sense of isolation and loneliness. Living alone also presents challenges
on the medical and health care side of the equation, especially for seniors who
arent fully independent. The Atlanta retirement community at St George Village
offers a comprehensive solution to these and other challenges in an atmosphere that is active, friendly, caring, and compassionate.

For independent seniors who want to stay active among others in their peer group, St. George Village provides a wide variety of options including walking/hiking trails, a fitness center and an aquatic center. The need for companionship can be satisfied as well with numerous activities including social, educational, and cultural choices. The lifestyle of senior living in Atlanta provided by St. George Village ultimately delivers the following benefits:

* Seniors become part of a vibrant community that shares their interests, passions, and concerns

* They dont have to worry about placing a burden on family members

* They retain their independence and pride and can live life on their terms

This positive environment is also available to seniors requiring assisted living retirement communities. High quality health care is provided by Wellington ourt at St. George Village for needs ranging from help with daily chores to skilled nursing.
Wellington Court provides health care services in the form of:

* Assisted living Assisted living care allows seniors to maintain their independence while receiving help with daily tasks such as housekeeping, bathing, and other needs.

* Memory Care Seniors with memory loss issues are provided with highly competent and compassionate care in a family oriented setting

* Skilled nursing care Wellington Courts skilled nursing care provides privacy,
dignity and personalized care to seniors with special needs

Other services provided to St. George Village residents are 24/7 monitoring and
emergency care, assistance with prescription management, and healthy meal
preparation.

Everyone has the occasional cough. It usually comes with a cold and goes away with little concern. It is when a nagging cough is accompanied by shortness of breath and regular wheezing that most people become very concerned about their health. These are some of the symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). According to statistics from the American Lung Association, more than 12 million Americans have a diagnosis of COPD, the group of lung diseases that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. There are likely another 12 million with it that are undiagnosed.

Causes
There are many different causes of COPD. Most of them involve frequent, constant and prolonged inhalation of particles, such as tobacco smoke, dust and noxious fumes. The number one cause of COPD is smoking tobacco. For non-smokers, pollution, cooking gases and secondhand smoke are prominent causes of COPD.

Effects
It is the root cause of several more serious medical conditions, and will . These include heart failure, collapsed lung, pneumonia and malnutrition. The early effects include an increase of mucus with coughing, frequent bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis. COPD causes patients to become fatigued easily, making it difficult to breathe after moderate or even mild activity. Eventually, COPD patients may need frequent hospitalization or at-home health care. In severe cases, home hospice care may be useful.

Treatments
Many sufferers of COPD have a combination of respiratory ailments, which makes their conditions more difficult to endure and harder to treat. COPD can be fatal, and there is no cure. Its progress can be slowed down with lifestyle changes, medication and sometimes surgery. This may include oxygen therapy, lung transplants and use of steroids and inhalers.

Coping
Living with COPD on a daily basis requires cooperation between household family members, patients and their doctors. Some may need in home health care or private nursing for daily assistance. Patients may need assistance from friends and family members to quit smoking. Those who quit smoking have the greatest benefit, as the disease will slow down dramatically. The patient’s doctor may provide a patch to help someone quit more quickly and easily. Another lifestyle change that will help those with COPD is a change in diet. Eating a nutritious diet of fruits, vegetables and lean meats will ensure high protein, vitamins and minerals, which are important for staying as healthy as possible. Those with unwanted weight loss issues may find it necessary to eat more calories with healthy foods.

As a cat or dog owner, it is imperative that you take good care of your animal to ensure that they don’t contract any serious illnesses or infections. However being inquisitive creatures, cats and dogs are often known to venture into damp, unhygienic places and additionally gulp down inappropriate items which often present grave health risks. Moreover the animal’s inability to communicate only worsens the predicament because it totally becomes dependent on you to identify its problem. Therefore as a pet owner, what can you do to ensure that your pet remains healthy? This article gives certain tips on pet care to keep your cat or dog in the best of health.

As far as pet care is concerned, it’s best to take preventive measures rather than spending it later on the veterinarian’s fees and pet medications. Thus whenever your cat or dog happens to be outside for long periods of time, performing a thorough body check on it as soon as it returns home. If you find bumps on any part of the body, check carefully to see if these are ticks or fleas. If you do find these, use tweezers to remove them. Flea repellant creams and ointments too are available in the market; therefore it wouldn’t be a bad idea to apply these on the pets before letting them out.

Using organic pet products is another great way to protect your pet from illnesses because often pet supplies contain synthetic elements that pets may be allergic to. Therefore even though more expensive, it is preferable for to get organic cat and dog food for your pet.

Pet care also involves keep your pet clean and for this reason, bathe them at least once during a week. Often the only way that pets can signal their problems is through body language signs such as howling, barking, lethargy, lack of appetite, etc. It is necessary that you as a pet owner always look out for these tell tale signs and immediately take them to the doctor if you see any deterioration in their health. Moreover, routine checkups should be performed keeping the best interests of pet in mind.
Including supplements in pet food is also advocated as these help to build the resistance power of the animal. However before administering these, always have they approved by a doctor. Your buys can be either directly from the market or online but ensure that these pet products are genuine because many a time, duplicate medications and foods have been known to cause adverse reactions in animals. If you notice any such symptoms, immediately discontinue the usage of the product.

Just like humans, pets too wish to be loved and cared for and therefore it is necessary that you show them ample affection. Stress is often known to cause ailments and therefore for this reason, you should try to provide the pet an as much stress free environment as possible.

Obesity is America’s number one health problem. It commonly leads to diabetes, Type 2, heart disease, kidney disease, and sometimes cancer.

According to a recent report quoted by the New York Times, obese citizens spend about 42% more per year on health care than normal-weight Americans.

“Obesity, and with it diabetes, are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they’re getting worse rapidly,” Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Center for Disease Control, said.

If obesity is driving up health care costs, what can we do about it? Ask doctors to charge less? Make the drug
companies provide free diabetes medicines and diet pills to obese people? Ask the insurance companies to provide their services for free?

Maybe we could nationalize the whole health care system and force all American taxpayers share the cost equally of caring for these unfortunate Americans who are the victims of…what? The restaurant industry! That’s it! Fast food and Doritos did it to them! Lays potato chips: “Bet you can’t have just one!” They dared these poor souls to become addicted to their deadly products–and it worked!.

I’m sorry.

I’m being ridiculous to make a point. My point is, our health care system is buckling under the weight of
the expensive round-about procedures we do and drugs we provide to counteract the effects of what people are doing to themselves.

Digging Our Graves With A Fork & Knife
We are a nation of food-aholics. Most of us don’t eat real foods prepared at home from fruit, vegetables, whole grains and beans. Most of what we eat has to center around either some animal meat and fat and lots of highly refined carbohydrates. Very few vitamins and minerals are left in our food–and almost no fiber. And we wonder why we get fat , have diabetes, heart attacks, and require expensive medical care.

My medical care costs me nothing but the time it takes to do some daily exercises and eat right. Chalk
it up partially to vanity–I never wanted to let myself get overweight or suffer the diseases that plagued my family tree.

A big part of my medical care is to eat what science and my conscience tells me I should, rather than stuff that merely tastes good.

But it’s all worth it to me. I’m not pleading with the government to get me health care. Nobody had to inform me that eating too much of the wrong foods would make me sick: I figured it out on my own after reading a few good books and research reports. It wasn’t hard–and it was a benefit for me to stay well.

What would I do about the health of the American people?
The best thing the health care professionals could do is to stop coddling us. Stop treating us like imbeciles.
Tell us the truth. I suspect that if doctors and public health officials leveled with citizens and told them the
golden truth that “We all are about 97% responsible for our own health, based on what we choose to eat,” it might make an impression after a while.

It probably won’t happen, I know, because the fast-food industry and other makers of fat-food(meat packers and the dairy and sugar industries) are in control of our FDA and the US Department of Agriculture. They would scream bloody murder if the public were told the truth about how their food products are the reason our arteries are plugged up with cholesterol and why we’re growing obese.

But, the bottom line is, we don’t have to eat those foods. Nobody is forcing us to eat foods that lead to heart
attacks, breast cancer, strokes, Alzheimer’s Disease, colon cancer, etc., etc. If you don’t believe me, then read the medical research that clearly establishes the connection between what we eat and these diseases.

Did you know that there are still pockets of people who still eat traditional diets that are primarily vegetarian–and
they rarely have heart attacks. Their women very rarely get breast cancer. People of these nations live to 90 and 100 years frequently, with sharp minds, good eyesight and they continue to work in their gardens and orchards. They are respected and contributing members of their society. If we chose to eat like these people, we could reduce our need for expensive and dangerous health care.

Here’s a simple truth of economics: If there was no demand for health care because everyone was healthy, then health care would be cheap. It’s a matter of supply and demand. A lot of cardiologists standing around with no triple-bypasses to do would quickly lower their prices. That’s my answer to the high cost of health care: Get healthy!

How do you get healthy? A good starting place to help you understand what’s wrong with our typical American diet is a book by T. Colin Campbell, Jr., PhD, entitled “The China Study.”