To the Editor:
If only it were so simple. Your solutions—to eliminate waste, raise taxes on the wealthy and institute game-changing innovations—ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room. A large percentage of health care dollars is consumed by a small percentage of the population who have illnesses that are preventable.
Excessive food consumption, tobacco smoking and alcohol use, coupled with lack of daily exercise, lead to obesity, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and many forms of cancer. The baby boomer population continues to age, and the incidence of age-related disease will continue to rise.
The really difficult task is to make people responsible for their own health. They need to stop smoking and overeating, and to exercise on a regular basis. The cost savings would far outweigh the trillions of dollars that are projected to be spent in redesigning a health care system to treat diseases that are preventable.
Edward J. Donahue
Phoenix, July 8, 2009
The writer is a breast cancer surgeon.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 