MSD 360 debuts big: First topic--Health care reform

2010-01-11T10:37:00.000-05:00

Welcome to MSD 360, the official blog of The Medical Supply Depot.com. We hope that you find our take on the world of health and wellness informative, creative, and thought-provoking. Thank you for your visit and for any comments you leave--we look forward to many of both. (And if this is your first time reading our blog, don't worry--it's our first time posting on it!)

Now then, how should we get this party started? You know as well as we do that the hot topic in health care today is the never-ending discussion/debate/shouting match over health care reform and the legislation before Congress.

With a juicy health care topic like that just hanging there for the taking, how can any self-respecting health and wellness blog resist? Seriously, does the world--or any of you--need ANOTHER article/ad/post/tweet about meal plans, workout plans, gym memberships, or at home fitness products? So let's just get on with it...

As the House and the Senate prepare to make their two health care bills play nicely together, ABC News reports that some provisions of the Senate plan make health care advocates a little nervous, such as the seemingly harmless "wellness provision."

In theory, the wellness provision allows health insurers to reward people who achieve or maintain certain health goals. But some health care experts claim that what seems like a good idea now has a bad outcome later. Over time, health care costs would be shouldered by the people least able to handle them--workers with existing health issues or other challenges that might limit their ability to hit wellness goals.

A recent article by ABC News quotes Harald Schmidt of the Harvard School of Public Health: "In some cases, the incentives are really sticks dressed up as carrots."

Motivating people to live healthy lives seems like something that everyone should support. But does that mean anyone unable to meet a health insurer's standard should be punished? That's probably not what the health care bill authors meant to happen...but at first read, it certainly seems possible.