Truth about health care costs

It’s hard to know where to start when presenting the latest and profoundly upsetting information about people’s experiences with health care costs.

1. A Gallup poll found that 34 million U.S. adults have one friend or family member in the past five years who died after not receiving needed medical treatment because they were unable to pay for it; 58 million adults report inability to pay for needed drugs in the past year.

2. In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that medical debt was the most common reason debt collectors contacted someone. Around 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year because of medical issues and bills.

3. Americans’ out-of-pocket health spending will total $11 trillion in the next decade on insurance premiums, copays, deductibles and uncovered medical expenses.

4. The stories illustrating the harm done every day to people are legion: There’s the guy in North Carolina who went to an emergency room for a feral cat scratch, didn’t need a rabies shot, and was still sent a bill for $2,500. There are families caravanning to Canada to buy insulin — it’s up to 90% less expensive there — in order to prevent the death of their kids with Type 1 diabetes.

You cannot dodge every health hazard: Bad things happen to good (and healthy) people. But the hazards of our health care system make it ever more important that you try to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible, and you can!

If you want to slash your risk for many chronic diseases by 80% and slash your lifetime medical bills by 50%, aim for what we call the “6+2 normals.” That’s blood pressure less than 130 over 85; LDL cholesterol less than 70; body mass index less than 30; hemoglobin A1C less than 6.4%; avoid all first- and secondhand smoke; and do stress management daily. The Plus 2: See a primary care provider yearly and keep immunizations up-to-date.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.