Immorality Drives Medical Costs

2 November 2009 | Roger Fredinburg

[TomasUSMC]

Immorality Drives Medical Costs

By Roger Fredinburg

Watching the “Great Debate” over medical insurance, rising medical costs and ever broadening government control, I am reminded of some interesting facts, the details of which are not evident in the public or political discussion.

I thought we ought to at least review them before the “rulers” of “Amerika” completely destroy the republic.

Have you asked questions like;

What is the cost of substance abuse on the medical system?

What are the medical costs of sexual deviance and promiscuity?

What’s the price of gluttony?

How about laziness, slothfulness, sedentary lifestyles etc. what is the cost?

And what is the cost of un-wed child birth?

What is the cost of poor diet, bad attitudes, fraud and basic neglect?

It might sound a bit old fashioned, but there is a best selling book out there that has a prescription for clean healthy living that pretty much covers the basics on health, diet, relationships, attitudes, moral behavior and even a little about sex, sexuality, child raising and self control. You can find it in any bookstore, it’s known as the Holy Bible. I understand it’s available in English now.

I am struggling to understand why people pick on smokers and fat folks but leave the fornicators, substance abusers and perverts out of the debate on medical and insurance costs that are rising unnecessarily in America.

I have attached the results from a government study done in 1992. I think you will agree it is our moral compass needing change, not the medical system.

If you extrapolate over time the compounding medical costs leading to present day, it’s easy to infer that the reform we need in this country isn’t health care reform, it’s social, spiritual and moral reform.

If you really want to control the medical costs in America, then control immoral behavior. It might be more effective if we were to tolerate a little old fashioned religion and discourage immorality with a vengeance.

Here’s that Study:

A study prepared by The Lewin Group for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated the total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse to be $245.7 billion for 1992. Of this cost, $97.7 billion* was due to drug abuse. This estimate includes substance abuse treatment and prevention costs as well as other healthcare costs, costs associated with reduced job productivity or lost earnings, and other costs to society such as crime and social welfare. The study also determined that these costs are borne primarily by governments (46 percent), followed by those who abuse drugs and members of their households (44 percent). The 1992 cost estimate has increased 50 percent over the cost estimate from 1985 data. The four primary contributors to this increase were (1) the epidemic of heavy cocaine use (2) the HIV epidemic (3) an eightfold increase in state and Federal incarcerations for drug offenses, and (4) a threefold increase in crimes attributed to drugs. More than half of the estimated costs of drug abuse were associated with drug-related crime. These costs included lost productivity of victims and incarcerated perpetrators of drug-related crime (20.4 percent); lost legitimate production due to drug-related crime careers (19.7 percent); and other costs of drug-related crime, including Federal drug traffic control, property damage, and police, legal, and corrections services (18.4 percent). Most of the remaining costs resulted from premature deaths (14.9 percent), lost productivity due to drug-related illness (14.5 percent), and healthcare expenditures (10.2 percent). The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)** conducted a study to determine how much money is spent on illegal drugs that otherwise would support legitimate spending or savings by the user in the overall economy. ONDCP found that, between 1988 and 1995, Americans spent $57.3 billion on drugs, broken down as follows: $38 billion on cocaine, $9.6 billion on heroin, $7 billion on marijuana, and $2.7 billion on other illegal drugs and on the misuse of legal drugs * This estimate includes illicit drugs and other drugs taken for non-medical purposes. It does not include nicotine.

[knarf]

A study prepared by The Lewin Group for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated the total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse to be $245.7 billion for 1992.

Of this cost, $97.7 billion* was due to drug abuse.

This estimate includes substance abuse treatment and prevention costs as well as other healthcare costs, costs associated with reduced job productivity or lost earnings, and other costs to society such as crime and social welfare.

The study also determined that these costs are borne primarily by governments (46 percent), followed by those who abuse drugs and members of their households (44 percent).

The 1992 cost estimate has increased 50 percent over the cost estimate from 1985 data. The four primary contributors to this increase were

(1) the epidemic of heavy cocaine use

(2) the HIV epidemic

(3) an eightfold increase in state and Federal incarcerations for drug offenses, and

(4) a threefold increase in crimes attributed to drugs.

More than half of the estimated costs of drug abuse were associated with drug-related crime.

These costs included lost productivity of victims and incarcerated perpetrators of drug-related crime (20.4 percent);

lost legitimate production due to drug-related crime careers (19.7 percent);

and other costs of drug-related crime, including Federal drug traffic control, property damage, and police, legal, and corrections services (18.4 percent).

Most of the remaining costs resulted from premature deaths (14.9 percent),

lost productivity due to drug-related illness (14.5 percent),

and healthcare expenditures (10.2 percent).

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)** conducted a study to determine how much money is spent on illegal drugs that otherwise would support legitimate spending or savings by the user in the overall economy. ONDCP found that,

between 1988 and 1995, Americans spent $57.3 billion on drugs, broken down as follows:

$38 billion on cocaine,

$9.6 billion on heroin,

$7 billion on marijuana, and

$2.7 billion on other illegal drugs and on the misuse of legal drugs * This estimate includes illicit drugs and other drugs taken for non-medical purposes. It does not include nicotine.

[mylife]

“Have you asked questions like;

What is the cost of substance abuse on the medical system?

What are the medical costs of sexual deviance and promiscuity?

What’s the price of gluttony?

How about laziness, slothfulness, sedentary lifestyles etc. what is the cost?

And what is the cost of un-wed child birth?

What is the cost of poor diet, bad attitudes, fraud and basic neglect? “

All to soon be Taxed or Subsidized to promote the Dems twisted ideas.

[Melas]

Very interesting. Even touched on gluttony and sloth, which amazed me. The pastor at our church once mentioned that sexual sin was a hot pulpit topic in churches around America because it’s a hidden sin that parishioners can pretend to have no first hand knowledge of, but waistlines give sloth and gluttony away which would make some too uncomfortable to come back next Sunday. Now that took guts to say from the pulpit.

[familyop]

Agreed. America was not intended to invite the European left-right libertine politics of Europe, and that’s the direction that our favored, bipartisan leaders have been allowed to move us for too long. They do it to prevent potential competition (other families) from rising. It’s time to get nonpolitical, self-sufficient, and to get them out of power.

[TomasUSMC]

All to soon be Taxed or Subsidized to promote the Dems twisted ideas

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Very good and dangerouse point. Obambi will tax everything and anything.

[TomasUSMC]

Hopefully these victories tonight will start a Tidal Wave of Conservative Christian Crusaders to drive the obambites back into the sewers.

[seemoAR]

I asked the Pastor of the Church I attend why there are very few sermons preached about the wages of sin. He said that Preachers would have to find a new line of work if they did preach against everyone’s personal sins. ;0(

[DrC]

It’s been known since the mid-1970’s that half of all medical spending is lifestyle-related, inclusive of the costs of smoking, excess drinking, drug abuse, lack of exercise, obesity etc. This unavoidable truth is the underlying reason we can never get political consensus on how to bankroll health care. Many Americans may well support assisting those hit with catastrophic health costs due to no fault of their own (e.g., a baby born with spina bifida). But too many other Americans want to essentially sweep under the rug the hundreds of billions in completely avoidable health costs by having these socialized in the guise of community-rated premiums in which everyone pays the same amount regardless of health status, age or any other factor.

The latter group is way too quick to blame others (tobacco companies, McDonald’s etc., poor socioeconomic conditions) for poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, obesity and drug abuse. But these “progressives” don’t represent a majority among voters and hence cannot outweigh the views of those who find subsidizing/rewarding personal irresponsibility both absurdly expensive/inefficient as well as morally abhorrent.

Unfortunately, such progressive views have a disproportionate influence among members of Congress (not to mention the WH), culminating in a perennial impasse that is playing out yet again as Obamacare slowly but surely crashes and burns.