Affordable Care Act: Insurance is not Health (Why You Can Benefit from the Chiropractic Approach)

This was published in Tuesday's Citizen.  You can read it here, too.

*  *  *  

I’ve been reading two books about the Affordable Care Act in order to try to understand the many changes that are coming around.  The authors stated how the new law will certainly change how everyone receives health care.

The basic concerns  I am reading about is that businesses will have to change how they hire and possibly freeze hiring or lay off employees.  Some companies will no longer offer insurance coverage.  People will essentially have fewer benefits with a higher price tag.  And that’s if there are enough doctors still interested in remaining in their professions.

While offering all Americans insurance is a major concern, one question is not being asked.  Why are we obsessed with sickness?  It’s understandable that emergencies happen, but talking about health care, or rather sick care, seems to incite a panic. There once was a simpler era when people had insurance but did not use it on such a continual basis like today. 

Reviewing the statistics, twenty percent of our neighbors between the ages of forty-five and sixty-four have one or two chronic diseases.  Just ten years ago the average was about fifteen percent.  The number is almost fifty percent for people over age sixty five.

Prescription drug use over a ten year period has increased significantly.  Does that mean we are sicker, or are we that easily swayed by drug commercials on TV?

I always wonder if we’re doomed by looking at so many depressing studies, and then I was more disappointed by other studies that show better insurance does not mean better health.  In fact, one author stated there is no change in health outcome just by giving someone an insurance card. 

The reality is good health comes from non-medical factors such as education, air quality, better access to healthy foods, and a supportive social climate.  Perhaps it is time to turn off the televisions in the waiting rooms and provide health coaching instead.

The right information can help you begin to delve into the non-medical activities that will make a positive impact on health.  Chiropractic focuses on many of these activities that don’t cost a lot of money.

The health of the spine plays a role in neuro-immune function due to the location of nerves inside the joints.  How you sit, stand, move, and sleep will affect reflexes and stress responses that carry over to the brain, heart,  and other organs.

There are many simple chiropractic tests that assess how well the nerves transmit valuable messages of healing to the body.   A chiropractic examination provides a non-invasive way to help you learn how to read your own body’s signals so you can take better care of yourself.

Of course, many stress responses do not illicit any pain or symptoms until the joints and their soft tissues have become fixated and inflamed.  A chiropractic wellness plan can address this before severe damage becomes evident.

While the Affordable Care Act was designed to provide critical care when you need it, you are invited to adopt a chiropractic wellness plan to help you avoid these more serious interventions.

See you at the table...the adjusting table.

--Dr. Lisa

--Your Health Freedom Specialist