The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare -- 8 Things

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Jill

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We all know I don't like to bring up anything controversial, but I thought this article is really well written and thought out -- so I wanted to pass it along. What Mackey says here in the Wall Street Journal makes A LOT of sense to me as both a citizen and a business owner
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The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare

Eight things we can do to improve health care without adding to the deficit.

 

By John Mackey

"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." —Margaret Thatcher

 

With a projected $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, several trillions more in deficits projected over the next decade, and with both Medicare and Social Security entitlement spending about to ratchet up several notches over the next 15 years as Baby Boomers become eligible for both, we are rapidly running out of other people's money. These deficits are simply not sustainable. They are either going to result in unprecedented new taxes and inflation, or they will bankrupt us.

 

While we clearly need health-care reform, the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system. Instead, we should be trying to achieve reforms by moving in the opposite direction—toward less government control and more individual empowerment. Here are eight reforms that would greatly lower the cost of health care for everyone:

 

• Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs). The combination of high-deductible health insurance and HSAs is one solution that could solve many of our health-care problems. For example, Whole Foods Market pays 100% of the premiums for all our team members who work 30 hours or more per week (about 89% of all team members) for our high-deductible health-insurance plan. We also provide up to $1,800 per year in additional health-care dollars through deposits into employees' Personal Wellness Accounts to spend as they choose on their own health and wellness.

 

Money not spent in one year rolls over to the next and grows over time. Our team members therefore spend their own health-care dollars until the annual deductible is covered (about $2,500) and the insurance plan kicks in. This creates incentives to spend the first $2,500 more carefully. Our plan's costs are much lower than typical health insurance, while providing a very high degree of worker satisfaction.

 

• Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits. Now employer health insurance benefits are fully tax deductible, but individual health insurance is not. This is unfair.

 

• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines. We should all have the legal right to purchase health insurance from any insurance company in any state and we should be able use that insurance wherever we live. Health insurance should be portable.

 

• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover. These mandates have increased the cost of health insurance by billions of dollars. What is insured and what is not insured should be determined by individual customer preferences and not through special-interest lobbying.

 

• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. These costs are passed back to us through much higher prices for health care.

 

• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost. How many people know the total cost of their last doctor's visit and how that total breaks down? What other goods or services do we buy without knowing how much they will cost us?

 

• Enact Medicare reform. We need to face up to the actuarial fact that Medicare is heading towrds bankruptcy and enact reforms that create greater patient empowerment, choice and responsibility.

 

• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren't covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

 

Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care—to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals. While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?

 

Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That's because there isn't any. This "right" has never existed in America

 

Even in countries like Canada and the U.K., there is no intrinsic right to health care. Rather, citizens in these countries are told by government bureaucrats what health-care treatments they are eligible to receive and when they can receive them. All countries with socialized medicine ration health care by forcing their citizens to wait in lines to receive scarce treatments.

 

Although Canada has a population smaller than California, 830,000 Canadians are currently waiting to be admitted to a hospital or to get treatment, according to a report last month in Investor's Business Daily. In England, the waiting list is 1.8 million.

 

At Whole Foods we allow our team members to vote on what benefits they most want the company to fund. Our Canadian and British employees express their benefit preferences very clearly—they want supplemental health-care dollars that they can control and spend themselves without permission from their governments. Why would they want such additional health-care benefit dollars if they already have an "intrinsic right to health care"? The answer is clear—no such right truly exists in either Canada or the U.K.—or in any other country.

 

Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.

 

Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.

 

Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.

 

Health-care reform is very important. Whatever reforms are enacted it is essential that they be financially responsible, and that we have the freedom to choose doctors and the health-care services that best suit our own unique set of lifestyle choices. We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health. We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health. Doing so will enrich our lives and will help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.

 

Mr. Mackey is co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market Inc.

 

 



 
 
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While I agree we need some sort of reform I think we need our Dr's to stop doing procedures that result in a future procedure. Let me explain;

A couple of years ago I got sick. Actually I had a ruptured bowel. I went to the ER. I should have been rushed into surgery. I was not. I stayed in the ER for 3 days. I have no memory from the evening of the first day so all I can do is tell you what I was told. On the 3rd day the hospital assigns a cancer Dr to my case. By the time I get into surgery I am in critical condition. I had so much infection that the Dr could hardly tell what was healthy and what was not (not much was healthy after 3 days). He inserted kidney stints. He did a colostomy. Instead of cutting out the bad colin and stitching it back together he routs it out my belly. When I finally came around to where I could understand what had been done, he said "don't worry, the colostomy can be reversed". What he didn't say was that it was an additional $50,000 to reverse it and that was just his cost without the hospital and all that goes with it. Where I have my problem with this is when I was 13 I had appendicitis. They ruptured and even though I had peritonitis and gangrene in my intestines, they removed about 6" of bowel and stitched it back together. I didn't have to spend another $50,000 to reconnect anything. It was 1 surgery and about the same amount of time in the hospital. Where I have my biggest problem is with the hospital that did not care for me and actually made the problem worse and made me sicker. We do need some sort of control over what these Dr's are saying we need as far as treatments. My first surgery cost $891,000 in total. It could have been much less if care would have been given when I went into the ER. The second surgery was $50,000 for the Dr and I do not know what the rest of the bill was. I really think Dr's are doing like an emergency vet I took my yorkie to did. I took her in with a choke. He looked at her and said "we will put her on o2 for the weekend. That will cost $1,800 a day and on Monday we will put her down." I asked why we would wait until Monday to put her down and he said "we have bills to pay too." I think the Dr's are doing the same thing and we trust them because they are the professional. Professional con artists if you ask me.

OK, I am done with my rant. This just touched a nerve. It isn't just the insurance. Health Care costs what it does because some Dr's just do things to cause something else. Oops! there I go again.
 
I am sorry for what you've gone through, Katiean.

I've really been through "the ringer" too with medical issues, but have been "surprised" at how little the hospitals and doctors have charged. For example, my entire issue with lung cancer, removal of most of my left lung, and high end diagnostic tests about a year and a half ago ended up costing less than $60,000 total... which I think is remarkable given the length of the surgery (12 hours, I think) and how serious it all was.

From the way I see things, people are not machines and in hind sight, there are things I wish had been known earlier than they were but who expects someone my age who never smoked and isn't coughing to have lung cancer? I think doctors can be in a tough spot when there are so many things that could be wrong to try and narrow down what it is. It was just a fluke question from me that prompted a chest xray and the then rapid diagnosis.

The things outlined by Mackey would go a long way to reducing costs and helping citizens. My own health insurance, just for me alone, is more than many people pay for housing. However, I'd much rather pay that amount than be in the hands of Obama"care".
 
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People and lifestyles have changed so very dramatically of the past 50-60 years...some good, some bad.

I think we can ALL agree that fast food eating and lack of exercise contibute to, or actually cause, many of the issues we see with rampant weight, blood pressure and diabetic issues. NO, not everyone with these problems are overweight or eat improperly but, many do.....or have.....and things happen. Processed foods also contain many additives that are not good for us.

When I was a child -- ok, it's been a while but my memory is still good
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-- we came home from school (where we had games outside, a playground, etc) and rode our bikes, climbed trees, skipped rope, etc. As a teen it was mandatory to have gym! I walked to a lot of places. I ate at home as there just were not the numbers of fast food chains. I can remember the first McD opening in our area!!!
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Color TV was new when I was a kid......I can even remember when B/W became commonly available.

My grandaughter thinks TV, DS & laptop are all that is needed. While she was fed excellent foods as a baby, when school started she began to dislike all those things -- kids DO influence kids. She is overweight and I really fear for future health problems!! She thinks Mac/Ch is perfect. I would prepare a meal and say "eat or do without"...her mom won't (my daughter). She needs to exercise!!! Recently dtr joined YMCA as a way to get her more active (there are no kids near our home) and this IS helping. Swimming and scheduled sports with other kids will sway her to do more. They usually go 4-5 times a week.

Me -- I eat well, healthy, rarely at fast chains, rarely drink carbonated beverages, little fried foods. I love real butter, whole milk, chocolate, good wine, hot tea, coffee, almost all veggies, low fat meats...eat what I want and in reasonable quantities....never smoked....get regular exercise between work and the farm work/feed needs......and I haven't even had a cold in over 10 years!!

If the government would find a way to flag medicare bills to verify those patients who receive the continual testing, supplies, treatments to know they are needed and ACTUALLY BEING RECEIVED, they could save millions!!!!

There's no magic bullet and everyone knows there is a problem. Self preservation is not at the top of many peoples list since a lot of assistance is available and rampant -- they just don't bother to change. Being overweight creates many, many health problems....if these individuals are on assitance/med care by government, they need to also be required to be in a weight loss program.

We don't even want to get me started on drugs...RX or other.
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I think you make some great points, Bess
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I do think there should be a much (MUCH) more careful watch on what is doled out through the government for medical treatments and there should be some hoops to go through in order to qualify...

Many people feel like if the government gives it to them, it's "free" when the reality is the government cannot give anything to anyone that it doesn't take from someone else.

The situation is currently a mess, and I'm afraid it's poised to get much worse.
 
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:OKinteresting
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:OKinteresting

Jill, that is the funniest thing you've said in a long time.
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Well, you know me... Sarcasm comes with the apostrophe (runs in the family)
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