Health Cometh Not From Healthcare

Bill Sardi reports:

A dagger has been thrust into the heart of American medicine and The Affordable Care Act. But none dare call it death.

In a complete denunciation of modern medicine, the profit-making schemes of health plans and political efforts to make healthcare available to all came to a dead end with a policy-bending report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that shows access to healthcare does not deliver health. The Affordable Care Act does deliver treatment. It does pay doctors and hospitals. But access to health care fails miserably at delivering health.

“Health cometh not from healthcare,” says preventive cardiologist John Mandrola who summarizes this report by saying: “the key determinant of a population’s health is not gleaming new medical centers, but individual behavior.” [MedScape April 2016]

According to an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, only about 10-20% of positive health outcomes are accounted for by delivery of health care. [Journal American Medical Association April 10, 2016]

Another recent authoritative report says only 3% of Americans live a healthy lifestyle, defined as being physically active, eating a healthy diet, avoidance of tobacco (which takes 10 years off a person’s life), and having a lean body shape. [Mayo Clinic Proceedings April 2016]

The key marker of health was found to be a zip code. Maps show almost a 15-year disparity in longevity between the most healthy and least healthy zip codes and this figure had nothing to do how much doctoring was going on. Income is the predominant factor. [Journal American Medical Assn. 2016]

A long article, well worth your time.