Although legislation revamping our health care system has been signed into law, debate continues to rage, and one topic of discussion is how we’re going to pay for it all. There is no doubt that health care costs are out of control. Annual spending is more than $8,000 per person, and government statisticians predict that by the year 2018, it will exceed $13,000 for every man, woman, and child. That’s 20 percent of our gross domestic product!
We must get a handle on this. Sure, we need to tackle inflated prices, inefficient and inappropriate care, poor management, and waste. But, according to a study based on an extensive review of the medical literature, targeted use of nutritional supplements could save more than $24 billion in health care costs over five years. Here are some of the study’s findings.
• If everyone age 65 and older took calcium and vitamin D supplements, approximately 776,000 hospitalizations for hip fractures could be avoided. Estimated savings: $16.1 billion.
• If people in that same age group took 1,800 mg of fish oil daily, we’d be able to cut back on 374,301 hospitalizations for coronary artery disease. Estimated savings of hospitalization plus physicians’ fees: $3.2 billion.
• If just a quarter of the women of childbearing age not taking folic acid took 400 mcg every day, 600 families could be spared the heartbreak of having a baby with spina bifida or other neural tube birth defects. Estimated savings, minus the cost of supplements: $1.4 billion.
• If people with macular degeneration took 6–10 mg of lutein with zeaxanthin daily, 190,927 of them might be able to remain independent and stay out of nursing homes due to vision loss. Estimated savings: $3.6 billion.
Routine use of just a handful of supplements would result in astounding savings, not only in money but in pain and suffering as well. The government conducts public health campaigns encouraging people to get vaccinations, to say no to drugs, and to wear seatbelts. Why not broadcast the benefits of nutritional supplements? Insurance companies require only a small co-payment for drugs, hospitalizations, and surgeries. Why not help pay for supplements, too?
