In this political season, the health care crisis has again become a hot topic. Make no mistake, the U.S. has the best health care in the world in certain areas, mainly trauma care, surgery and infectious disease control. But when it comes to chronic degenerative illness like arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer or autoimmune disorders like Lupus and Multiple Sclerosis, the U.S. has more cases per capita than any other country. At the same time we pay about three times as much per person than other countries for medical care. So what's the problem?

Let's start with managed care. These organizations were touted as the solution to lower health care costs. Yet, health care costs have skyrocketed at even higher rates since HMO's and PPO's took over our facilities. The main reason for the existence of managed care is to increase profit by keeping their costs down while increasing revenue. This often results in increases costs to consumers. Here's an example. I recently asked my medical doctor about a suspicious mole on my arm. He agreed that a specialist should check it and referred me to a well known dermatologist. Sure enough the dermatologist agreed the mole should be removed and a biopsy sent to a lab. Unfortunately his PPO no longer paid him to do this procedure (which he had preformed hundreds of times before) so he referred me to another specialist. The PPO approved specialist examined my small mole. "Yep that should come off," he said, "We'll schedule another appointment next week." The final visit took about 20 minutes to complete a procedure that 20 years ago would have been finished on the first doctor visit. Total bill for the four office visits and biopsy? Close to 1,400 bucks. Of course if I hadn't been covered by my wife's health insurance from her state job, I may have gotten up to a 20% cash discount and at least one or two less office visits. Still wondering why health insurance premiums are so unaffordable?

How about prescription drug costs? It's well documented that the U.S. pays more for the same drugs that bring a cheaper price outside our borders. Who picks up the tab? Mostly private insurance or Medicare /Medicaid. The costs are passed on to the patient as higher insurance premiums or to the doctor as less reimbursement for services. Still wonder why insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies rival the oil giants for record profit margins?

What about the hidden costs of prescription drugs? Keep in mind, prescription drug interactions are now a leading cause of death in this country. If proper monitoring was taking place, how many lives would be saved? How much could health care costs be reduced? Although they can save lives, prescription drugs are potentially dangerous. That's why you need a prescription!

Now the latest news. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended statin drugs for children as young as 8 years old with high cholesterol. Here's a news flash. High cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease. Inflammation causes heart disease. Inflammation causes damage to the inner walls of the blood vessels. Cholesterol repairs this damage. If you have lots of damage, cholesterol will clog the arteries. If your inflammation and damage is low, your cholesterol levels don't matter. Case in point, the Eskimos have the highest cholesterol levels recorded in any population. When they stuck to their traditional diet of whale blubber and fish (high in anti-inflammatory OMEGA-3 ) they had extremely low levels of heart disease. When fast food came to town, heart disease went up. If the American Academy of Pediatrics is concerned about heart disease in children, how about taking a cue from New York State and lobbying to take hydrogenated oils out of our food supply? Hydrogenated oil clogs blood vessels, reduces organ function, and increases inflammation. As a preservative, hydrogenated oil increases shelf life of food therefore increasing food industry profits. Isn't it time we put our childrens' health ahead of corporate profits?

So what can an individual do to bring down health care costs? Vote for candidates that pledge to put pressure on the insurance, pharmaceutical and food processing industries to put public health ahead of quarterly profits. Call your congressional representative to take similar action. Petition your local PTA to remove junk food from schools and improve lunch programs. Educate your friends, family, and neighbors on what healthy lifestyles can do for your health.