What kind of world is it when a government regulatory body denies someone 6 months of additional life — because they can’t sanction payment for a life-saving drug?  That’s exactly what NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) in Britain said to Bruce Hardy, a British citizen dying from kidney cancer.  And, Mr. Hardy is not alone.  Throughout Europe, countries are making similar decisions about what kind of care patients can get and countries can afford to give.  Make no mistake, this is not an issue that will remain in Europe.  Managed care proiders and other insurers make these decisions daily…and so will our government.

It’s easy to blame drug manufacturers for “charging too much.” But, as we’ve talked about in prior posts, it’s not that simple.  The process of true drug discovery and innovation is expensive.  It’s easy to blame payors — government or private — for not making humane decisions.  But, that’s too pat a response as well.  Money is tight.  Cuts need to be made and the more expenive treatments are often the most innovative and life-saving.

Here’s the answer…we need to become a nation of savers…not just from a financial perspective but from a health perspecive.  The vast majority of Americans are born healthy. But, through poor lifestyle decisions, over-indulgence, stress, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, we chip away at our health.  We don’t store up wellness for a rainy day.  We don’t take the steps needed to help our bodies through rough times or prevent the onslaught of disease.  And then, when we resort to medications to protect the hearts that were once strong, clear the excess sugar from our bloodstream, minimize damage to blood vessels from plaque and high blood pressure, we erode the healthcare coffers of our personal fortunes and the nation’s as well.  And, we complain about the cost.

If we want to fund innovative medicines with government support, we have to stop being wasteful withtheir resources.  If we want to have access to lifesaving medications and devices when our bodies are attacked by the unpreventable scourges of disease or simply the wear and tear of a long life well lived, then we have to do our part to reduce the expenditures on those conditions that are preventable.  We have to invest in our health by protecting it.

The good news is that wellness is less costly — personally as well as to payors, employers and governments — than illness. 

Wellness is as inexpensive as employers negotiating healthful options in their subsidized cafeterias. 

Wellness is as thrifty as a 30-minute walk during lunch hours or after dinner. 

Wellness is as economically sound as stress reduction classes in the workplace or yoga in your living room. 

Wellness is school nurses having sunscreen for recess and hand sanitizer in the classroom.

Wellness is a commitment that pays off.  The reduced spend on docor visits, medications and medical procedures positively impacts our personal pocketbooks, our employers resources and the government’s ability to say “yes” to Bruce Hardy.  It just means we have to say “no” to those things we know deplete our personal health resources and “yes” to those things that fund our health bank.