I’ve been thinking a lot about healthcare reform in the US recently, due to both the ‘08 election and Michael Moore’s Sicko film.  So many people have so many ideas about what should be done with healthcare, and some are wacky and some are crazy.  Personally, I don’t know exactly what should be done but I have a few thoughts.

The biggest problem with the healthcare system in the United States today is cost.  Healthcare costs in the US today are rising for many reasons, including longer life expectancy, medical malpractice suits, and developments of medicines to treat problems that we never treated before.  Costs are rising rapidly, and data suggests healthcare costs now equal 16% of GDP (this number is expected to increase dramatically over the next decade).

So how can we reduce costs?  Obviously, we can’t ask people to live shorter lives.  That’s way too ethically unsound.  I have two suggestions.

The makers of Equal are suing the makers of Splenda, alleging false advertising regarding: “It’s made with real sugar…” because the sugar used to make Splenda is chemically modified so Equal claims that this means it’s not made of real sugar.  And because of this, Equal wants some lost profits back due to Splenda’s alleged false advertising.  Equal claims that Splenda’s advertising is literally false, where Splenda claims it is literally true…

This will be interesting.  The makers of Equal have lost a ton of money due to the emergence and popularity of Splenda recently.  Are Splenda’s claims true?  Is Splenda “better” for you than Equal, as far as artificial sweeteners go?  This case probably won’t answer all of these questions, but it brings them to light.

Professor James Moody of Ohio State University recently completed a fascinating study, mapping the romantic and sexual relationships of students at a high school over the course of 18 months. Although there were not many students who had many partners,

The romantic and sexual network at the school created long chains of connections that spread out through the community, with few places where students directly shared the same partners with each other. But they were indirectly linked, partner to partner to partner. One component of the network linked 288 students – more than half of those who were romantically active at the school – in one long chain. (See figure for a representation of the network.)

Granted, to be in the chain, sexual intercourse is not required. Nevertheless, this has profound implications in regard to the spread of STDs. Because students often think that they are acting non-promiscuously by only having one or two partners over eighteen months, they underestimate their potential risk for getting STDs. Because if those one or two partners happened to be linked in a long chain of people, and one of those people happens to have an STD, there is a real chance that a “non-promiscuous” student could end up with an STD.

Image from tspauld.

There is an increasing movement today to compare America’s fast food companies to the cigarette industry.  Yes, it’s true that they both sell products which have the potential to endanger one’s health if used.  Smoking a pack of cigarettes every day and eating three big macs every day can yield to similar degrees of health problems.

This is much of the logic behind a movement to punish the fast food industry.  Many people are suing McDonalds, Burger King, and other firms, claiming various things, all of which amount to an accusation that these fast food firms are creating an environment in which people are “encouraged” to eat poorly, thus acting as a main cause for obesity.

Let’s stop for one second.  Why does any firm choose to sell a particular product?  The answer is simple: because consumers are demanding it.  It’s not as if McDonald’s spontaneously decided that it would create a large number of unhealthy, affordable foods.  McDonald’s, like any successful firm, responded to market demand for food.  Americans have shown that they want fast, cheap, affordable food, with large portion sizes.  Nutritional information seems to be secondary.  Because of this, McDonald’s has given them fast, cheap, affordable food in large portion sizes.  Is it wrong that they responded to demand?

Big Tobacco is intentionally misleading voters in Ohio. Currently health groups are petitioning for smoking bans. These groups are petitioning with the name “Smoke Free Ohio.”

Tobacco Companies have created a similar petition group called “Smoke Less Ohio,” which different in one way… it actually allows smoking in virtually all public places. The same is happening in Arizona. The tobacco companies are trying to eliminate smoking bans throughout the country by confusing voters.

The following quote is from a very good MSNBC article:

But are the tobacco companies playing fair? When NBC News approached petition gatherers in Phoenix with our hidden cameras, they never told us they were being paid by cigarette makers. In fact, they implied just the opposite.

Petition gatherer #1: Do you smoke?

NBC: No, I don’t.

Petition gatherer #1: Oh, yeah. Well, this is The Non-Smoker Protection Act.

NBC: So, if I am a non-smoker, that’s the one to do?

Petition gatherer #2: Yeah.

NBC: So this is a good one if you’re a non-smoker?

Petition gatherer #3: Yeah, this is a good one because I have asthma, that’s why I believe in this one.