Sick and Sicko

The media bandwagon is starting to role on health care reform. Michael Tomasky gave a glowing review in the Washington Post to the new book, "Sick," from Jon Cohn of The New Republic. The book focuses on the individual struggles of families who fall through the cracks of our patchwork insurance system. The only criticism in the review is Cohn's failure to take on the special interests who benefit from the current system -- the doctors, hospitals and drug companies.

I also noted the first ads for Michael Moore's "Sicko." The film, which makes its debut at the Cannes film festival, promises to do for health care what the populist propagandist previously did for General Motors ("Roger and Me"), the gun lobby ("Bowling for Columbine") and the war in Iraq ("Fahrenheit 9/11").

Both efforts, I'm afraid, incorrectly characterize the health care mess as an insurance crisis. But Nick Kristoff in today's New York Times (I'd provide a link, but it is part of their proprietary product) hits some key notes in his positive review of Democratic candidate John Edwards' health care reform plan. Says Kristoff:

But universal coverage is only part of the answer. We also need far greater attention to public health programs focusing on prevention. Two of the most important life-saving health interventions in recent decades weren’t medical at all: the cigarette tax and laws mandating air bags and seat belt use. A national public health campaign on obesity (similar to the one Gov. Mike Huckabee started in Arkansas) should be an essential component of health care reform.

When will someone start doing studies comparing the cost-effectiveness of spending money on prevention interventions versus health care interventions? A few billion spent on identifying people with hypertension and pre-diabetes in poor and minority communities, and then helping them correct those situations, would save the health care system far more down the road than what these government programs would cost today.