How health care access was taken from patients, and how we can restore it
FOR THE LAST 120 YEARS, chiropractors have been outside the established medical system, looking in. Thankfully, we have experienced a huge shift in our culture over the last three years, especially around health care.
I speak with people daily who have stories about a health care nightmare they’ve endured. Stories about insurance companies, medical providers and drug companies fill my day with wondering how everything became so convoluted for patients and providers.
The ‘big’ monopoly era
Unfortunately, we live in a Big Pharma, Big Food, Big Insurance, Big Government, Big Medical and Big Media climate that has tricked us into believing our current model is the only way health care can be provided. These groups have spent trillions of dollars to keep any alternative from threatening its monopoly.
What if consumers realized they drive the future of health care in the U.S.? Consumer spending on health care has reached almost 20% of our current Gross Domestic Spending. Properly positioned, a grassroots healthy lifestyle system with cost-consciousness, community and common sense could save trillions of dollars in direct costs. More importantly, this would put health accountability back in the hands of the patient, where it belongs.
Chiropractors have been fully trained in this alternative system and have been ready to provide it for over 100 years. But we haven’t found the “end around” to bypass the current health care monopoly. This “end around” will only occur the old-fashioned way. One patient, one doctor and one community at a time, using a new technology twist.
How health care was taken from patients and providers
The history of American health care is a very interesting story. The first U.S. medical society was formed in 1735 in Boston and the first general hospital was established in 1750 in Philadelphia.
All early health care was “fee for service.” You paid the doctor directly. Even if it was with livestock, crops, bartering or other durable goods. There was a fair exchange of goods for services. The local doctor also gained respect as a civic leader, much like a priest or the sheriff, because of this fair exchange.
By the early 1900s, the industrial revolution brought dangerous working conditions, and workplace injuries became more severe. Unions also grew stronger. They began pooling money for serious injuries plus different forms of sickness prevention. This was the first form of medical insurance.
By 1920, medical schools only looked at disease, not health. So, for 100 years, promoting and living a healthy lifestyle was not discussed. Medical schools only did research on disease states and never focused on the positive effects of living a healthy lifestyle. They were only interested in symptom relief, not curing the root cause of disease.
After World War I, hospitals and doctors charged much more than the average person could afford for health care. In 1923, Baylor Hospital began to provide local teachers with health care at a prepaid monthly fee. This program grew quickly to become Blue Cross/Blue Shield, but for most U.S. citizens, health expenses kept rising.
Then in 1940 came penicillin. This wonder drug saved millions from death. It fueled Big Pharma’s “one pill for one ill” idea. Then the race was on to develop drugs for every symptom of the human condition. These drugs fit Big Pharma’s new model perfectly — provide symptom control while leaving the underlying problem to fester.
Next, in 1942, to fight inflation after World War II, the government passed an act to limit raising wages for businesses. So, businesses got creative and attracted workers with employer-sponsored health insurance. Employees didn’t have to pay taxes on this compensation and got health care for themselves and their families for little or no money.
This newfound compensation was very effective, but there was a terrible side effect no one considered: The patient lost control of the health care they were provided. In the beginning, their employer did their best to provide quality health care, but prices on every level continued to rise. The employer had to manage costs while also keeping employees.
Employees settled for “free” or almost-free health services and put off or ignored things considered “out-of-pocket.” Patients just took providers’ recommendations without question because doctors were still considered “above reproach.” They were highly educated and knew best. Who were we to question?
By the late 1940s and ‘50s, doctors escaped the “pay-for-service” model. They were employees or hired by the health insurance, hospital or drug company to provide care. Doctors lost touch with the patient’s financial responsibility and continued prescribing testing, drugs, procedures and referrals, the way they were trained.
In 1960, our government began tracking National Health Expenditures (NHE) and calculated health care expenses were 5% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2000, the NHE was 13.3%. In 2022, the NHE has grown to almost 20% of the GDP. This means one in five dollars spent today is on health care.
Taking our health back
Recent studies suggest up to 90% of current medical expenses are traced to a lifestyle-based disease. Big Pharma, Big Medicine, Big Insurance, Big Food, Big Government and Big Tech (I call them the Big 6) combined to create more profits for their shareholders. We spend more than any first-world country on health care and get the worst results for lifestyle-based disease.
We’ve all seen the commercials: “When diet and exercise isn’t enough,” take this medication. This gives us all an excuse. It’s saying, “Living a healthy lifestyle is hard, so cover the symptoms and hope it goes away.”
The best examples of lifestyle-based diseases in the U.S. today are heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Healthy lifestyle has been proven to successfully address these three diseases without stepping foot into a doctor’s office. But where’s the push to teach you how to take care of these problems yourself? Which “covered” services of your insurance plan provides you the tools to take care of yourself?
Patients can keep their money in their pockets
But what if everyone lived a quality lifestyle and didn’t get sick? Would marketing dollars go to waste?
This is why the Big 6 have consistently buried a healthy lifestyle regarding the big three lifestyle-based diseases, plus continue to give us an easy out instead of doing the work to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s not our fault. We’ve been put into a world where profit has been placed over building a healthy population.
The time has come to use our 20% of the Gross National Product to build a new model, based on healthy lifestyle creation that makes our current sickness care model obsolete. The only way to break free from our current medical model is to create an entirely new system. This new system is based on one simple, but powerful foundation: Patients are taught to take charge of their own health.
We are in the third generation that has relied on our doctors, insurance companies and Big Pharma to dictate what is a “covered” or “non-covered” medical expense. Plus, “non-covered” medical expenses are so inflated only people with plenty of money can buy these types of cash services.
We pay our bills to providers and insurance companies monthly. Imagine how much all of us would save if we were healthy and didn’t need medication or that next test or procedure? What if you could dramatically decrease your insurance premium because you didn’t have anything wrong with you?
Approximately 90% of our current health care costs are attributed to poor lifestyle habits. What if someone provided you with the tools to build and live a healthier lifestyle for little or no money? Plus, provide you with a sounding board of like-minded people who you could hang out with and talk to?
Your new tribe cares about you, not your money, and didn’t try to shame, guilt or scare you into anything you didn’t feel comfortable doing. These people also hold you accountable for what you want out of life because they love you and only want the best for you.
This entire system is home-based. You educate yourself about health at your own pace in your comfy clothes. You gain access to certified health coaches and local providers when you decide you need them. This education is designed with no selling or bias to any one product or service. You would get all sides of the story so you could make an informed decision on what is best for you and your family.
Isn’t it time for the patient to decide what they need, why they need it and make it affordable for everyone?
BILL HEMMER, DC, has been in private practice for more than 30 years. He has expanded his practice to include customized health recovery plans. To learn more about his “inflammunity” model of care or other questions, he can be reached at drbillhemmer@hotmail.com.
