Healthy Lifestyles

Apparently the Brits drink alcohol even more than the neighboring drink happy Irish. A new report that warns that Britain's notorious drinking culture is putting an unacceptable strain on hospitals and medical staff. The British health care system spends $4.4 billion each year treating patients for drink related problems, double the amount five years ago, the report said.

The British government's has suggested raising the price of alcohol to curb the country's binge drinking culture, and the government has promised to launch public awareness campaigns about the dangers of alcohol. I saw a similar alcohol problem in Australia and New Zealand when there for travel, particularly among teens and young adults. The culture of Great Britain (and the former colonies) includes a binge drinking component.

It begs the question in Britain and for every health care system everywhere that, since alcohol is the most misused drug in our society, maybe public and private insurers should stop treating those who are killing themselves with alcohol and other drugs. Alcohol abuse can be defined as a preventable disease. Can insurers be allowed also require adherence to rules about what people eat, how much they exercise, what type of sports (possibly dangerous sports) and other activities they engage in, how many people you have sex with.....the possible uninsured risks might be endless.

From the other perspective, is not a person free to adopt whatever lifestyle he or she wishes? Should not people be insured for any malady, regardless of cause? What if a person has a genetic defect that induces illness or an unhealthy life style? Surely, it is of no fault of the individual. Isn't that a factor independent of eligibility for health care?

I point out all of this to show why government should stay out of the health care business and let the free market determine who is eligible for what coverage and how much the coverage should cost each person. When universal health care is mandated and public funds used for it, the care becomes very expensive. Too, why is health care "a basic right", as so many contend? I think it is not a "right", but rather a goal for which the private sector should strive.

Perhaps putting more personal responsibility into the health equation will produce better answers than most health care delivery systems now have