The most cost effective way to reduce medical spending is to require less of it. This isn’t a commentary on what the government or private health insurance companies should or should not cover. What I am suggesting is that we can, in large part, control the number of medical interventions that we’ll need over a lifetime. This is primarily the domain of preventive medicine, but I think it extends beyond that. The lifestyle decisions you make affect more lives than just your own. Like it or not, we all set an example whether constructive or destructive for those around us. There is no escaping that reality. The good news is that we’re all capable of changing the way we live and becoming better role models. It is that very notion that can empower us all to participate in reshaping the current medical system. Read more »