Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
Via Sarah Kliff, the OECD’s Obesity Update 2012 provides an important example of a complex problem (soaring health care costs) that could be addressed, in part, by a relatively simple solution (healthier diet and exercise).
President Obama has caught plently of flak in the past for similarly modest proposals, like painting roofs white to reduce air conditioning and electricity costs, or keeping car tires properly inflated to improve mileage. Thankfully, that hasn’t stopped the administration from moving ahead with new rules for government-subsidized school meals, which must now include whole grains, reduced fat and salt, and twice as many fruits and vegetables.
It’s a step in the right direction. The OECD estimates that an obese person incurs 25 percent higher medical bills than a person of normal weight in any given year, with obesity responsibile for 5 to 10 percent of all health care expenditures in the United States. And that number should rise by 2020, when the OECD predicts three out of every four Americans will be overweight or obese. So, as employers and families struggle to pay ever-higher premiums, a renewed focus on practical, preventative health policy—like school nutrition regulations—is surely a step in the right direction.
Graph of the Day: Health Care Costs Continue to Rise
America’s health care crisis may not be the front page news that it was back in 2009 and 2010, but that doesn’t mean that costs have come down. On the contrary, the latest data from the Commonwealth Fund’s annual report shows that U.S. health care costs are as out of control as ever, and still rising.
According to Commonwealth’s 2011 report, more than one-in-four sick adults were unable to pay or experienced difficulty paying their medical bills in the past year. Nearly half of patients with complex health problems reported not visiting a doctor, not filling a prescription, or not seeking recommended care because they were worried about unaffordable costs or medical debt. That is double the number of people reporting similar problems in the eleven other industrialized nations that were polled, except for Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Americans were also found to experience the worst health outcomes, despite spending more per capita on health care than any other country: nearly $8,000 per person annually. The next closest country, Norway, spent nearly $3,000 less.
Other data collected by the study reveal some admirable successes. While the American health care system was weighed down by the highest rate of obesity—and consequently three times the average number of diabetes-related amputations—the United States also had the fewest daily smokers of all but Sweden. And despite experiencing the highest number of deaths per capita amenable to health care, Americans also had the best five-year breast cancer survival rate and the most extensive cervical cancer screening program of any industrialized country.
Poll: 86% of U.S. Workers Are Obese Or Unhealthy, Cost Billions in Productivity Losses
Via ThinkProgress:
A new Gallup poll reveals that 86 percent of U.S. workers are obese or have a chronic health issue that could cost the economy “more than $153 billion a year in lost productivity from increased sick days.” With approximately 450 million days of work missed each year because of weight and other health problems, another study puts the economic cost at around $1.1 trillion.
