LettersI want to thank Sally Pobojewski (Medical School) for her letter to the University Record published May 12. Responding to our HealthSense series on managing the rising cost of health care, she rightly points out that our national health care situation is extremely complex and that blaming sick individuals for their conditions can be a trip down an unproductive path. I could not agree more. When asked to identify the primary cause of the high rate of increase in U.S. health care costs, Dr. Robert Winfield and I cited several causes. In my experience there is seldom a single cause for such a complex challenge. While Dr. Winfield spoke to the development costs of new medical technologies, pharmaceutical advances and the health care labor force, I added that demographic influences beyond the infrastructure of our system of care also play a role. Part of the pressure on our system in the United States is due to medical conditions that can be caused or exacerbated by long-term poor health habits. In no way should we use blame as a weapon against patients needing care or a wedge to divide one generation against another. Indeed, I believe that doing so would be a fundamental injustice. Equally fundamental, however, to solving our health care challenge — as individuals, as a community and as a nation — is the need to more proactively discover and attend to our own health risks. It's easy to get lost and feel helpless when facing such a daunting national challenge. Let's never lose sight of what we can do to care for ourselves and each other. |