According to FreeERISA data, in 2009 the average health care premium paid per participant in the 100+ market was $5,556. In 2010, that number rose more than 5 percent to $5,844. That is an unsustainable rate, and it's time we took matters into our own hands.
Health care costs and personal responsibility. It seems like people expect they can lower health premiums by shopping around, or by passing legislation, or by wishing really hard – and those things can certainly help – but it's kind of like weighing four hundred pounds and trying to get yourself ready to run a marathon by buying new sneakers.
For several years, I suffered from hypertension, and for several years, my doctor wanted to put me on medication. I refused. I didn't want to spend money on pills when the real problem was just that I ate too much and exercised too little. A study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine estimated the cost of hypertension medication after initial treatment to be around $336 per year.
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I didn't want to end up spending more than three grand over the next decade on pills I didn't need.
So on Jan. 1, I took that $336 I would have spent on medication and bought a set of dumbbells and a workout video. I didn't diet, but I changed the way I approached food: no going back for seconds, when at parties try to enjoy the people more than the hors d'oeuvres, and eat more slowly.
In seven months I'd lost fifty pounds, was at my ideal weight, and my blood pressure had dropped from 150/95 to 110/62. I saved money on medication, and I spend maybe 20 percent less on food.
The only extra expense I've incurred is having to buy new clothes.
What if we applied these savings to health care as a whole? Could keeping our own bodies healthier drop premiums by 5 percent? 10 percent? 20 percent? I don't think that's impossible. The rise in premiums I mentioned above was $288 – not too far off from what I'm personally saving by getting healthy.
The next time you're at the gym, just imagine it's your patriotic duty to work out — your HR manager will thank you.
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