Americans spending more on healthcare: report

Yes, Americans are spending more on sick care, but this article is clearly stupid and misleading with conclusory statements unsupported by facts.

So what else is new?

"Americans spent about 40 percent more out of their own pockets for healthcare over the past decade, according to a report in the latest issue of the health policy journal Health Affairs. An increase in chronic conditions, especially diabetes and high blood pressure -- not just among the "oldest old" but among baby boomers and older adults -- is to blame, researchers say...

The greatest spike in spending occurred among people with multiple chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes."

These are diseases that fat people get.

And the rest of us pay for with our taxes.

Businesses waste money on clearly ineffective "Wellness Programs," a further cost passed on to the consumer.

"'Employers are increasingly recognizing the value of wellness programs and making them available to employees. However, more dramatic and systematic efforts are needed to induce a societal shift where primary and secondary prevention is considered a basic benefit and healthy lifestyles are the cultural norm,' they wrote"

In fact, there are no good data to support the "value of wellness programs" except to the companies that are promoting them in journals like the one that published this article.

Caveat employer.