Everyone someday dies. Unless death is from an accident or something else that occurs suddenly, people generally get ‘sick’ before they die. Sometimes that illness is brief before death (e.g. a fast-growing cancer), and sometimes it’s protracted. In either case, unless one chooses to let nature take its course and not intervene medically, there will be a time when most of us are consumers of health care. Preventative medicine, unless it results in illness-free immortality will not prevent us from eventually being health care consumers. People generally spend the most money they ever will on health care in the final years, or even months of their lives.
That said, it is true that if we reduce obesity we will have less diabetes, and therefore less expenditure for chronic blood glucose control and for treatment of diabetic complications. This is a worthy goal, as are the other interventions mentioned in the op-ed. It’s not a new concept, however. When I was a child (more decades ago than I like to think about) there were national programs for promoting physical fitness. There were national efforts to educate in schools about the four food groups and a healthy diet. These programs still exist. They can only go so far. Ultimately individuals have to make their own choices. In my experience many people do a better job taking care of their cars than they do their bodies.
You are so right. I watched my FIL and MIL get old and die and they used a lot of healthcare, thus medicare money in their last years. FIL (starting in his 90th year...up until then he had very few health problems) had cancer, but recovered. Then he fell, broke his hip, got MRSA and lingered for months, the cost was outrageous for the antibiotics to treat his MRSA, but you can't not treat. He lived a long time, considering his condition, in a specialty hospital that had a high level of care and charged big $$$.
I sure have used my share of our health care benefits over the years...we have group insurance through my husband's company. But could I have prevented my illness (MS)...no. All other aspects of my health are fine. People do not have control over many chronic illnesses and the meds to treat many of those illnesses are very expensive.