Will healthcare bankrupt U.S.?

[HEAL Alabama (Healthy Eating, Active Living) is a nonprofit, 501 (c) (3) organization based in Alabama whose mission is to measurably improve children’s health and reverse the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.]

From: Rob Shattuck <rdshattuck@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 23, 2018 at 3:56 PM
Subject: Will healthcare bankrupt the United States?
To: healmystate@gmail.com

Dear H.E.A.L.,

For the past two years, our country has lived with one political side hellbent to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, the other political side trying to stand athwart that, and Trump and the Republicans doing piecemeal dismantling of Obamacare.

This leaves the healthcare system a mess in 2018, with no sign that our broken, polarized Congress has any capacity to do its job for the American people regarding healthcare.

Further, this is in the context of a looming national healthcare crisis growing out of, among other things, obesity, diabetes and the increased number of more old people who are living longer.

The country's current financial duress in the healthcare domain is only going to grow much greater in the coming years.

How well Congress and the Federal government, and how well state legislatures and state governments, will be able to get their acts together and manage the ticking healthcare time bomb is uncertain. There is reason for a lack of confidence.

I am not in any position of authority and I have no healthcare policy role, public or private.

Nonetheless, in connection with the 2017 special Senate election in Alabama, I undertook to try to engage the candidates, academics, and representatives from the healthcare industry, etc., to have public discussion of their views about what should be done regarding health care reform. You may learn more about what I tried to do at http://al6thcongdist-ihaveuntiljan13.blogspot.com/2017/06/health-care-symposium.html.

This effort I made in 2017 went nowhere.

H.E.A.L. is trying to make a significant, long range contribution on the healthcare front in Alabama. The health benefits and the healthcare costs savings to be achieved from H.E.A.L.'s programs require sustained active participation by parents, children, teachers and others, and are being only very slowly realized.

It is probably hard to get elected government officials to incorporate, in their campaign platforms and in their policies, a strong call on the people that the people need to alter their ways and habits that affect their health. If a politician harks too much on that, the voters may not vote for him or her, and hence the politicians and elected officials may not do strongly worded messaging to the people about what they need to do about their health, as H.E.A.L. would like to see done.

My reason for this email to H.E.A.L. is that I wish to resurrect in 2018 the effort I made in 2017 to engage the candidates, academics, and representatives from the healthcare industry, etc., to have public discussion of their views about what should be done regarding health care reform.

I see from H.E.A.L.'s listings of staff, Board, advisors, partners and sponsors that H.E.A.L. has many contacts in Alabama government, universities and industry related to healthcare. While it may be wishful thinking, these contacts might be very supportive of the healthcare symposium idea I tried to get going in 2017 and be helpful in getting a healthcare symposium sponsored and organized this year.

If this is so, and names can be provided to me of persons willing to help out, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you for whatever help you can provide me on this.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck