Healthcare prevention can go longer way with price tags attached
I PRAISE Dr. Terry L. Schraeder for bringing up the importance of preventive health (“Weighing an ounce of healthcare prevention,’’ Op-ed, July 6). However, until individuals, whether privately or publicly insured, bear more of the costs of their insurance coverage, we will never realize true healthcare reform. The way to accomplish this is through a variety of incentives. Why shouldn’t people be given a discount for managing their health more responsibly? How about higher premiums for smokers and for people with extreme body mass index, and more generous coverage for obtaining regular cholesterol screenings, colonoscopies, mammograms, and Pap smears?
If we provide economic incentives to individuals to take better care of themselves, it would be a win-win situation for everyone: an eventual reduction in chronic diseases and a decline in associated healthcare expenditures.
Our goal should be expanded healthcare access, not expanded healthcare use.
Jamie Rauscher
Lexington 