The Worst Approach

     I definitely do not think it's wise to only be spending 5% on prevention. Too many people rush themselves to the hospital over symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, and coughs and avoid going to the doctor for more serious conditions because seeing a doctor takes too long. If people were educated on how to prevent getting minor sicknesses in the first place, they won't waste the doctor's time and the doctor can focus on more important patients. Furthermore, educating people on how to stay healthy can help them avoid developing serious conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

     I found an article from 2001 discussing how much it cost the state of Minnesota for the inactivity of the people living there. Approximately 60% of the adults are overweight and another 17% are obese. Because of the inactive lifestyles these citizens are choosing to take, they are developing other serious illnesses such as colon cancer, breast cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, and the aforementioned disorders. 

The study showed that if these people would have just been more active, the state of Minnesota could have saved $495 million just in one year from health care costs necessary to treat these diseases and conditions which could have been prevented with an active lifestyle. This is a perfect example of why preventative measures are necessary. If these people were taught that just being more active could save them from developing these disorders, millions of dollars would have been saved. This money could have been used for the prevention of disease rather than on fixing a disease.

Link to article: http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/inactivityfs.html