Something's Gotta Give: Ten-Point Plan for Integrative Health Care Reform

One likely aftermath of the recent Wall Street tremors is a next administration belt-tightening - which may impact one of this economy's highest ticket items: health. This occurs just as we planned to bring millions more under the insurance umbrella. Something's gotta give.

Though we need insurance coverage to prevent American families from going bankrupt due to catastrophic illness, for both economic and health reasons, health care reform must widen its reach to include integrative options that address the rampant chronic illnesses which gobble up most of our health care dollars.

Analogy time.

If you don't change your car's oil, your engine will burn out.

But let's suppose a national monopoly licenses all gas stations making it standard procedure to replace engines rather than offer oil changes. In this scenario, your trusted mechanic claims oil changes don't work. Following extensive advertising, many people believe them to be "dangerous." Your neighbor, a retired mechanic, offers oil changes in his home garage. He's considered a crank. Your sister-in-law goes regularly and encourages you to try an oil change. You're skeptical.

This is our dilemma in health care. The dominant medical system is economically and scientifically bound to a narrow range of practices (and research models) while excluding integrative practices, along with research models that demonstrate their efficacy--particularly for chronic illness. The dominant system is sustained by pharmaceutical billions, much of it spent on marketing and lobbyists, bolstering 'belief" in a system with significant shortfalls.

Most integrative practitioners agree that conventional medicine becomes necessary (and should be covered) for certain acute conditions. However integrative practices proactively treat incipient health imbalances to prevent, reduce, or delay the onset of many diseases. "Oil change" health care improves life quality and reduces costs long term.

Even though some 1.5 million people use integrative care, systemically the U.S. fails to access its fullest benefits because the dominant health franchise opposes it as a business competitor. When we allow marketplace forces to define health care (and science), we pay with our health. In the current economic climate, we no longer have the luxury of ignoring this reality.

These ten policy changes can begin to institute the best of integrative care:

1. Subsidize healthy food, tax both unhealthy food and its advertising. A thousand health books identify the foods contributing to epic overweight, obesity and diabetes. A miniscule tax on junk food could help cover costs of the proposed reform.

2. Incentivize schools, companies, universities, hospitals, and health clinics to offer training and support in foundational self-care practices for all ages. Include nutrition, fitness, stress management, addiction treatment, communication/ conflict resolution techniques, with counseling for trauma and major stressors.

3. Don't confuse natural foods, products, and practices with toxic drugs and invasive surgeries - the former don't require the same proofs of safety or efficacy so let's allow people to elect their use.

4. Restrict television drug ads, which create demand for novel diseases designed by marketers. For toxic drugs, invasive surgeries, and vaccines, place the burden of proof of safety on the manufacturers, rather than indemnifying them.

5. The Body's Oil Change: Ask integrative physicians to assemble the key diagnostic services that reveal health status including tests for inflammation, hormonal function, neurotransmitters, blood sugar regulation, organ function, cardiovascular fitness, mineral balance, nutrigenomics, bone density, and toxin levels--which will ascertain an individual's risk factors to target treatments. Get group rates to make tests affordable.

6. Train nurses, nutritionists, and others to serve as Integrative Health Coaches offering regular follow-up care, lessening the burden on MDs and improving compliance.

7. Promote foods, tests, and treatments that help the body release the many toxins (such as industrial pollutants, pesticides, hormone disruptors, heavy metals, and infectious agents) to which we're exposed now.

8. Test for and reduce all forms of environmental pollution that impact human and wildlife health, food, air, water, and agriculture.

9. Genetics reveals that people are biochemically unique. Support outcomes research into novel healing approaches that individualize treatment.

10. Down-regulate psychological pollution: The Climate of Fear communicated by government, the media, and films and television that emphasize crime, criminals, cops, the legal system, punishment, and violence negatively impacts people psychologically and physically. Work with trauma psychologists and the television and film industry to shift these cultural messages.

Finally, don't put the wolves in charge of the chicken coop. In other words, don't make conventional scientists the gatekeepers of integrative health research and reform. Be guided by the integrators.

Asserting that we have the best health care system in the world is equivalent to saying that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. According to the World Health Organization, we're # 37 in health status. Health care isn't about branding or profit, it's about service.

For more info on integrative health care, go to: www.Health-Journalist.com

Comments

[tazdog]

"Don't confuse natural foods, products, and practices with toxic drugs and invasive surgeries - the former don't require the same proofs of safety or efficacy so let's allow people to elect their use."
Unregulated i,e, unknown ingredients "natural" medications have the same ability to harm as any pharmaceutical product but in a much less predictable manner. Is it a conincidence that every other comment here is from someone with something to sell? Contrary to what you imply "western medicine" is based on proving effectiveness with rigorous science. If you wish to impose your will and your taxes on society as a whole you will have to prove your claims. You're not "excluded" as you claim. Come up with proof instead of opinions and then you'll be mainstream.

[holler4health]

Wow! This is the best health plan I have ever seen in print! If this plan were implemented our nation could save billions of dollars in health care expenses. Conventional medicine should be reserved for acute medical crises while integrative approaches and prevention should be reimbursed to prevent and reverse chronic diseases.

Thank you so much, Alision, for spreading the word.

Teresa Holler
Are hidden chemicals harming your kids while making you sick, fat, and tired? www.holler4health.com

[wolfgangmo]

If you want to move beyond hegemony in medicine then you need to remove the MD's from the god pedestal. Let's add those who are similarly trained but in different modalities to mix. How about Naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, ayurvedic doctors, etc.

Currently medicare pays for all residencies and the lack of residency programs is sometimes used to keep other Doctors from sitting at the table. Talk about blaming the victims.

MD's are great but they don't have all the answers.

[Alison Rose Levy - Huffpost Blogger]

You make an excellent point. Every single integrative physician I've ever interviewed over the last twenty years affirms that we need conventional medicine for emergency care, certain kinds of acute care, broken bones etc it's chronic diseases and prolonged end of life care that are draining the dollars -- and with the current economy, how are we going to pull the rabbit out of the hat to pay for that?

Obviously, the solution is allowing other kinds of treatment. What our current system fails to account for is that once you have something that can be diagnosed-- such as a symptom or a disease, in most cases, it did not just crop up yesterday, but has been created by unidentified imbalances that have developed over months to years. All the methods you mention -- and many more-- aim to identify these balances ahead of the curve so that they can be treated before you develop a disease. But the conventional model is not vested in health because the money is made from the pricey treatments and drugs you need after you get sick.

Finally, it's not only acupuncturists and others who have bona fide methods to address imbalances to lower your risks of disease onset-- there is a growing body of integrative medical practices that also do that. There are many bio-medical techniques that are in use. At the very least, people should have the right to opt to use those techniques -- and insurers should look into them for

[dadw5boys]

Here we can't get old doctors to retire and get out of the way so young more infromed Physicans can build a prastice.

Some have been prasticing for over 55 years and have had strokes but are so greedy they just won't quit !

[wolfgangmo]

Old physicians don't quit, they just start doing independent medical exams for insurance companies.

Trust me when I say that any good doctor can start a private practice and will thrive if they have any business acumen to combine with good diagnostic skills.

[tompoe]

One step program is better. Nationalize healthcare and be done with the middle men who want profits for just being there. What do they contribute?

[LaneReiss]

Alison, the analogy about oil changes was perfect! The sad truth is that people take better preventative care of their cars than they do for themselves. If everyone would just make sure to keep the proper "oil" running through their systems, there would be a lot less catastrophic breakdowns.
You bring up the subject of nutrigenomics in point 5, and say this in point 9: "Genetics reveals that people are biochemically unique. Support outcomes research into novel healing approaches that individualize treatment."
Well, there are companies already positioned on the forefront of this new movement towards personalized health and nutrition. I have started a site myself which is dedicated to the exploration of this fascinating new field of science. To see it, go to www.DNANutritionGuide.com and feel free to leave a comment.
Lane

[wolfgangmo]

They do two things that I can think of.

First, they remove sick people from coverage so you don't need to see one of "those people" when you go see a doctor. Second, they slow down the entire process of medical care so that more people die which serves to raise the bottom line for the stockholders and CEO's.

Honestly, what are you? A traitor?