Treating the sick is killing America. U.S. health care costs, long the highest in the world, have risen so quickly that many consumers, governments and employers are having trouble paying the medical bills.  Health care has become a major issue in several states, Congress and the 2008 presidential race, and has even emerged in popular movies and books.

Current annual health care costs are running at nearly $2 trillion dollars and expected to double in 10 years to $4 trillion.  Today, more than half of all Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases. An aging baby boomer population of 78 million and a growing deterioration in the health of America’s youth, combined with an outdated symptom-based health care management system that focuses resources on expensive late stage disease detection and treatment is the primary cause of this malaise. 

The leading authority on the subject of prevention is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  According to the following excerpt from the CDC Report The Power of Prevention…

“WE FACE AN EPIDEMIC OF UNPARALLELED PROPORTIONS"

Never before have Americans felt so vulnerable. We are more fearful of unpredictable, often random events, such as terrorist attacks including anthrax exposure, infectious diseases such as the West Nile virus, violence and crime, and other uncontrollable threats such as a plane crash, than we are of largely preventable life-threatening diseases. The risk of illness or death, however, from chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, and stroke is far greater. And while many are aware of the seriousness of chronic illnesses—with respondents to a recent survey identifying chronic diseases or related risk factors as 5 of the 6 most important health problems, most Americans have not changed their lifestyles sufficiently to reduce their risk of death or illness.
 
The United States faces a health epidemic of unparalleled proportion—an epidemic that is substantiated by the hard facts.

• More than 1.7 million Americans die of a chronic disease each year, accounting for about 70% of all U.S. deaths.
• Five chronic diseases — heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (e.g., asthma, bronchitis, emphysema), and diabetes—cause more than two-thirds of all deaths each year.
• Chronic disease is not just an issue among older adults. One-third of the years of potential life lost before age 65 is due to chronic disease.

The number of deaths alone, however, fails to convey the full picture of the toll of chronic disease. More than 125 million Americans live with chronic conditions, and millions of new cases are diagnosed each year. These serious diseases are often treatable but not always curable. Thus, an even greater burden befalls Americans from the disability and diminished quality of life resulting from chronic disease.
Chronic, disabling conditions cause major limitations in activity for 1 of every 10 Americans, or 30 million people.

• Arthritis or chronic joint symptoms is the number one cause of disability, affecting nearly 1 of every 3 adults in the United States.
• Stroke has left 1 million Americans with disabilities; many can no longer perform daily tasks, such as walking or bathing, without help.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure and of new blindness in adults. More than 60% of leg and foot amputations unrelated to injury are among people with diabetes.

Almost every American is adversely affected by chronic disease in one way or another—through the death of a loved one; a family member's struggle with lifelong illness, disability, or compromised quality of life; or the huge personal and societal financial burden wrought by chronic disease.

HEALTH CARE SPENDING IS ON THE RISE
Our nation spends more on health care than any other country in the world. In 1980, the nation's health care costs totaled $245 billion—an average of $1,066 for each American. In 2001, the total health care cost was an astounding $1.4 trillion. In 2007, total health care costs are estimated at approximately $2 trillion. Chronic disease accounts for roughly 75% of health care costs each year.

• The estimated cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke in 2003 is $351.8 billion. Of this amount, $209.3 billion is due to direct medical costs and $142.5 billion to lost productivity.
• In 2000, the total cost of obesity was estimated to be $117 billion. Of this amount, $61 billion was due to direct medical costs and $56 billion to lost productivity. The estimated cost of cancer in 2002 was $171.6 billion. Of this amount, $60.9 billion was due to direct medical costs and $110.7 billion to lost productivity.
• The estimated cost of diabetes in 2002 was $132 billion. Of this amount, $91.8 billion was due to direct medical costs and $39.8 billion to lost productivity.
• The estimated cost of arthritis in 1995 was $82 billion. Of this amount, more than $22 billion was for direct medical care and $60 billion for lost productivity.
• Direct medical expenditures attributed to smoking total more than $75 billion per year. In addition, smoking costs an estimated $80 billion per year in lost productivity.
• In 2000, health care costs associated with physical inactivity were more than $76 billion.
• Each year, over $33 billion in medical costs and $9 billion in lost productivity due to heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are attributed to poor nutrition.