The debate and discussion are now on with the new proposal to repeal and replace the PPACA (Obamacare) with the AHCA (Trumpcare). The politicizing of the country’s health needs is very much a part of most discussions even though there is no easy answer.  The numbers are staggering as to who may or may not be left out. Perhaps the most positive result of these discussions has been that people are looking more closely at how AHCA costs and coverage will directly affect their ability to make sure that they and their families are personally protected.

The issue often overlooked in all of this is the very real impact that good health has on overall quality of life.  Our current law includes provisions that make us all accountable for our preventive care and the monitoring of our own health status. For some, especially those that are newly insured, that means acting proactively, perhaps for the first time, instead of waiting to get sick before seeking medical help. There is, of course, a cost to this level of care, but the cost generates returns over the long term in managing illness and providing treatment earlier, not to mention preventing some illnesses altogether.  While there are those who are opposed to requiring people to have health insurance, that choice also has financial consequences in that those of us who do have insurance pay for this very expensive form of safety net coverage for the less fortunate through higher premiums.

The concept of “access to healthcare” for all Americans is a bold and, ultimately, misleading statement.  We all have access, but that doesn’t always equate to affordability or availability when it is really needed.

A DOSE OF TRUTH: Let’s change the discussion from access to controlling the excesses that are part of our daily lives that could change and control the need for so much healthcare.

Maybe we eat too much and sit too long.