We Are What We Eat Part 3

Another factor to consider is that the major players in the food industry like Coca-Cola actually funded obesity research. It had paid for a published paper by the NWCR think tank. The food industry learned from the tobacco industry in that they funded research that downplayed the relationship between nicotine and disease. We remember that the tobacco industry claimed that” Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health.” No one believes that anymore. I also remember meeting my brother at one luxurious medical conference held in San Francisco that was sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. Just ask your doctor for samples of meds and you’ll know what I am suggesting. Prescription medication is heavily used by the medical doctors in their patient treatment. The Pharmaceutical companies are immensely profiting from the obesity and its related diseases. Do you believe that a pill can fix everything? This brings us to health insurance. These companies are making record profits as a result of outrageous premiums, limiting coverage to low income individuals as well as other restrictive options at their disposal. Per a May 21, 2017 article in The New York Times, it was reported that Anthem, one of the nation’s largest insurers, planned to increase their rates 24 to 38% in Connecticut market. They rationalized their decision, claiming it was based on the assumption that the Trump administration would continue paying the subsidies through 2018. They said that if that assumption was wrong, the company’s insurance rate increases would be much higher. They also added that they expected to serve a smaller, sicker group of people next year. Healthcare insurance companies are in the business of making a profit first and foremost. They are powerful and have a dramatic influence on the government and the lobbyist’s write the legislation that protects them, and only them. Over and over, we hear again and again that people are denied coverage. For example, as far as mental health coverage goes, the plan may say 20 psychotherapy visits per year, but that number is misleading. The plan does not spell out or in fact cover the vast majority of complaints or situations that would bring someone or a family to seek counseling or psychotherapy. For example, marital or relationship counseling; employment problems; learning disability; alcohol, drug or gambling addictions; parent-child difficulties are not considered serious enough and as a result are not covered in one’s policy. Is insurance for the benefit of the insured or the benefit of the company? to be continued