Prevention

Arguably, our health care system has done a good job on treating chronic diseases. If they don't find a cure for something they find ways to delay the development of the disease. However, this has lead to an increase in length of life with a chronic disease as opposed to a long healthy life. This costs our health care system a lot as the expensive treatments now go for much longer periods of time. I believe that thus far we have been looking for a solution in the right direction. Prevention is key to avoiding the high expenses. Nevertheless, a stronger effort needs to be made in the area of policy. If we look at the past, we'll notice that some of the greatest victories against unhealthy behaviors has been through policy... think of smoking, for instance. Many people in our society think very little of the effects their current health behaviors will have on their future. That's why policy becomes our greatest weapon, as it automatically leads these people in the right direction towards healthy behaviors.