My paranoia stems from feeling so manipulated. First I'm guilted for being so irresponsible as to take care of my own health when there's nothing wrong with me. Heaven forbid I should just be healthy. I'm 56 years old, I ought to do the decent thing and need a prescription. Then standards are moved all over the place to "prove" that I'm not healthy after all. Then drugs are forced on me to 'fix my number', and if I have the audacity to refuse, my insurance company browbeats my doctor for my non compliance, and my doctor then routinely scolds me for not "doing anything" about a number that didn't concern me in the first place. Cholesterol is what I have in mind, but mild overweight, slightly high blood pressure, minutely over the line blood sugar and a host of other things now fall into the same pattern.
I'm not entirely sure where the drive for increased costs comes from. Patients? Doctors? Devices? Hospitals? Pharma? Crazy expensive procedures, or just the propensity to recommend them for everyone? Better get an MRI for that sore thumb, you never know. Insurance? Fear of lawsuits?
What I do know is that a lot of basically healthy patients get an emotional reassurance from participating in the Be Good Little Girls and Boys program, and the rest of the parties make money off it. The politicians just get richer from making sure the spin never stops being in conflict, and what's needed is more and different rather than less and standard. Could you imagine how much salary would be lost if we actually came to a decision and stopped arguing over healthcare! Catastrophe!
And yes, Jane. What I learned from spending a week staring at commercial TV is that everyone can live like a unicorn farting rainbows if only they Ask Their Doctor If Thanatophobia Is Right For Them. Either that, or buy their spouse a $60,000 automobile for Christmas.