Healthcare and Housing: Stop Blaming and Take Control of Your Economic Status

Many Americans continue to struggle in the face of a sluggish economy and falling home prices which is taking a toll on their overall well-being. Thirty-five percent of middle class Americans said they or someone in their household has experienced a physical symptom of stress related to the economy, according to a recent report by First Command Financial Services, a financial service provider. Most common were anxiety, changes in weight, sleeplessness, low energy and irritability. "These are health conditions that we want people to be aware of," said Kathryn Power, director of the Center for Mental Health Services, a division of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Power said that at the start of the recession there was a sharp uptick in the number of calls to the Center's suicide hotline. "About 30% of the calls we get are related to economic distress," she said. "They were having emotional difficulties because of fear of their financial situation, fear they would lose their job, lose their home." "We are concerned about this from a public health approach," Power cautioned. "Even if people can't afford professional health services, they should go to community health clinics," she advised.

When Americans need it most, more are opting out of proactive health care as a result of the recession, according to the survey by First Command. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said that they have put off doctor visits due to economic conditions -- up from 15% in 2010. First Command polled approximately 1,000 Americans aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000.  "There are short-term, mid-term and long-term implications," Power said of how the economy affects health. "If people are forgoing regular check-ups or medical appointments, there will be long-term health consequences across the board."  In fact, the poorer you are the more likely you are to have worse health. Furthermore, poverty is known to cause high teen births, high crime, obesity, depression, and higher death rates. These are just the tip of the study. People across each spectrum of economic class status are distressing with alcohol and cigarettes. This is not surprising, but alarming.

I strongly urge people to take control of their own lives and stop placing blame on political heads of state or political parties, or tort reform or lack thereof.  The truth is Americans are aging. Healthcare dollars take up over 17% of our total GDP and it is rising. Of that 17% about 40% is spent on people who are in their last 6 months of life. Over 67% of all healthcare dollars are spent on the top 10% of the users. The bottom 50% uses only about 3% of total healthcare dollars. Obesity and chronic disease account for over 70% of healthcare dollars. These reasons are why healthcare keeps rising. Include those reasons with the rapid decline in the housing sector over the past 3 to 4 years, well, just figure in this statistic:  about 60% of all jobs are housing related.  People who tried to “keep up with the Joneses,” by stretching their dollars beyond their means while greedy lenders took advantage, led to the housing market draining money out of our economy. Jobs, savings, and investments have been destroyed.  People are afraid to spend money, which leads to fewer jobs or fewer hours. This leads to not having enough to spend on even preventive healthcare. You can't blame the doctors and other healthcare providers, they are struggling too. When people put off visits, they get hurt.

            Americans can only be this pissed off for so long until we make ourselves sick - from hostility, worry and resentment. I strongly encourage eating healthy, sleep and exercise as well as you can. Try to remember what's really important (friends, family, and community connection), and take good as good care of ourselves as we can.  In my opinion, we do not need the government creating low wage jobs with tax dollars or bailing everyone out.  Businesses and the American people need to embrace the freedom capitalism allows with a less intrusive government role (which is a topic for later discussion). When this occurs, less economic stress and affordable healthcare will exist.