October 17, 2008 
It’s a continuous message these days…people are avoiding care (preventative and necessary) due to cost. Here is an article in the Washington Post about it.
Though the burden is especially heavy for uninsured Americans, even those who have coverage are feeling the pinch as employers shift higher deductibles and co-payments onto employees.
“The reason why health care was immune [to recessions] in the past was because most people were covered under good insurance plans,” said Jean Mitchell, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University. Now, “people are realizing, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to pay for this out of pocket.’ ”
Enabling Healthy Decisions 
Vijay – That’s a good reminder. Root cause analysis.
If we go to behavior than most of us “gamble” everyday thinking that we can be bad today and make up for it later or ignore the long-term effects of our bad behavior (i.e., eating poorly, not exercising).
Gambling with your health doesn’t start with not going to the doctor.
Its all the little decisions around buying a big mac vs. eating something lean, its having a sore back and sitting in a chair all day vs. stretching it out, its stopping physical activity and becoming sedentary.
Until we get to the root drivers of wellness, we’ll never address the shifts occurring across the health system, which stem more from day to day normalcy than the visits to current health system practices that are unlikely to address these root causes.