Strictly by the statistics, the greatest problems we face as a society are cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthema and other chronic diseases. These diseases not only have a great personal cost, but societally, there is a greater cost. According to the CDC, more than two-thirds of deaths in the United States already occur due to these (partially) preventable problems and most of the costs of health care come from these chronic diseases as well.
Beyond these immediate threats, the societal costs are great. We are currently embroiled in a political stalemate and expanding deficits due, partly, to excessive healthcare spending. If the costs continue expanding, our society will have to make truly hard choices -- whether to end various government services, such as welfare, infrastructure spending and education or paying for chronic disease health care costs. These problems which could easily be reduced by better willpower from citizens -- through exercising, eliminating tanning, less driving and better diet -- and taking preventive care seriously.
Additional problems include problems such as birth defects and reproductive health problems, medical malpractice and prescription mistakes, and oral health problems. As for the first ones, birth defects are increasing, but reproductive health problems such as premature birth are decreasing, especially with the newest announcements from the DMC and NIH regarding hormone treatments. Medical malpractice and prescription mistakes could be fixed with the advent of better Electronic Medical Records. Oral health problems are on the rise with more and more Medicaid patients losing their dental insurance. These problems, however, are not as large as the problems with chronic diseases.
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