CGH #040: Fear Of Health Care Reform

The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” returned to the airwaves in January. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every second Thursday at 11:00am central time. Join the discussion!

Episode 40 is entitled “Fear Of Health Care Reform”. It is sad and incomprehensible how much angst and fear appears in people from all walks of life when you mention the phrase "health care reform". It is promoted by the media, the politicians, and the special interests, yet much of it is unfounded.

There seem to be a number of talking points that have been the focus of media and special interest attention in the discussion of health care reform. But as Franklin Delano Roosevelt noted in his first inaugural speech - "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Sadly, it is that same fear that drives the health care reform debate these days.

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Episode 40 Notes: Fear Of Health Care Reform

Welcome to the Smart Life Project's "Consumer's Guide To Health" for March 29, 2012. I'm your host, Allan Besselink, coming to you live from Austin, Texas (as I do every other Thursday at 11:00 am central time). This show is brought to you by the Smart Life Project, a health initiative based in Austin, Texas committed to providing sports science solutions for training, rehab, and life. Life is a sport - play smart.

Becoming a consumer of your own health and health care is critical in this day and age. The health care and fitness worlds can be a challenge to negotiate. But we are also in an era of accessibility to information, and as I always say, knowledge is power - if only we'd use it. Let's face it though - the inability to challenge our belief systems in the face of good scientific evidence is the primary limiting factor in the advancement of both health care and coaching, as well as human performance and injury prevention. And as I always say - don't shoot the messenger.

The primary goal of this show is to increase awareness of these issues so that people can become better consumers of their own health - from the grass roots level.

With that in mind, our call in number is (347) 843-4753.

Today's episode 40 is entitled "Fear Of Health Care Reform".

It is sad and incomprehensible how much angst and fear appears in people from all walks of life when you mention the phrase "health care reform". If there is one issue that directly affects the US population, and one issue that evokes fear at the same time, it is health care reform. It was a focal point of the 2008 presidential election, and I am certain it will factor into the upcoming presidential election in November. People tend to be very polarized regarding health care reform, so much so that there are now lawsuits going so far as to challenge the constitutionality of it with the Supreme Court.

Health care reform - as we know it today - has become known as Obamacare. Oh, how I hate that phraseology.

Much of this is driven by fear - of the unknown. It is promoted by the media, the politicians, and the special interests. And if you doubt that there is a deep-seated fear, or that fear isn't the appropriate phraseology, then you might want to consider some of the definitions of fear itself.

Fear is formally defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus or the threat of danger. There are some common causes of fear - most notably, learning. This is also known as fear conditioning. Fear is affected by historical and cultural influences.

At this moment in time, there is, without question in my mind, a fear of health care reform. It certainly meets all of the criteria. And much of it is unfounded.

There seem to be a number of talking points that have been the focus of media and special interest attention that have driven the fear up in the discussion of health care reform.

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Photo credits: joehardy