Patron, what you are saying is absolutely correct, and I had the same exact thought about the "hedonic claptrap" mentality playing a part here in this article, but things do get more complicated... Medications for hypertension improved dramatically over the past 20 or so years, and it is very possible these days to avoid the long-term complications of this condition. There are great improvements in treatment of Diabetes and hyperlipidemias. People get a chance to remain healthy for more years, and this is what good health care is all about, isn't it... Those are but a few examples.
Recently I - actually, I went skiing with a fellow who is involved in stem cell research. This field promises to yield great new treatments for heart disease, Diabetes, etc. For example, there is a possibility of "training" these cells into becoming "replacement" cardiac pacemaker cells (watch out, medtronics! -g) or , for that matter, differentiate them into "new" cells capable of secreting insulin...
So far these things are in the labs and in theory, but in time they will probably lead to major "simplifications" in the treatment of many diseases.
The American health care system is expensive and unsatisfactory, and we do not get our dollar's worth, that is true, but the fault lies with politicians and bureaucrats, rather than with the scientific potential |
