Why Wellness Takes a Back Seat in the Reform Debate

Despite all the talk of reform, there is NO significant aspect of pending legislation to change health care that harnesses the benefits of prevention. As Bill George mentioned during his recent Businessweek article, final health-care legislation is severely compromised by a myriad of lobbyists and special interests who advocate protecting their turf but rarely contribute to sound policy. Numerous side deals have been cut with industry groups that make a noncompetitive market even less competitive. As Bill correctly pointed out, "the bills under consideration will only make a broken system worse, resulting in unintended consequences."

So why the lack of policy reform that really takes into account positives that wellness could provide to the problem of too many people being ill from poor lifestyle choices ? Enter my friend Lawrence Lessig. You see our system of government and policy is unduly influenced by money. That is the reason common sense solutions don't receive the attention they deserve. There are truly NO influencers equivalent to the special interests and money of the medical, insurance, and pharmaceutical extant health care system players . As a result there is no proverbial dog in the fight for wellness. Watch Lessig above explain how special interest blocked health policy on the consumption of sugar as a case in point and join the change congress movement if you really want to get our nation healthy.