Week Five- Last Blog!

                After watching “23 ½ Hours,” I would propose that the policy we use to help America’s declining health be Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program, and other programs similar to it. Mike Evans made a very convincing argument in his lecture filled with countless facts from reliable sources, which makes it clear to me that the best thing we can do for our health is exercise. Because exercise has been shown to be so vital to our health, I think that exercise is the best thing to focus on in a policy meant to bring about change in the health of America. This would also be a much easier policy to create and implement because almost all people agree that exercise should be encouraged. Another policy aimed at health that instead focused on trying to limit consumption of sugar filled beverages or fast food would not be successful because people do not like to be told what they can and cannot eat. We cannot force people to stop eating fast food, but we can encourage them to get up and move. For many people, just making one simple life change like walking for 30 minutes a day can affect other aspects of their lives as well, and before we know it, people may start choosing to eat healthier on their own. By focusing on exercise, we can merely tell people the facts and show them how easy it is to make a change by doing simple things such as taking the stairs or walking to work.

                I think that the government should be involved in promoting healthier habits, should never try to impose or enforce any kind of rules about exercising. As we live in a free country, the government really can’t force American citizens to do exercise every day, but the government can still help the country to get healthier by teaching children about the lifelong benefits of exercise in school, as well as offering a physical education class to children every day, and by making information on exercise and health easier to understand and widespread. The Let’s Move program has already done a great job at promoting children and their parents to get in some exercise every day through play, but I think that for it to be most effective, there needs to be a much bigger effort on the marketing front. If the government really wants American citizens to be healthier and start exercising, they need to hold more events that encourage people to move, but ads on TV that tout the benefits of exercise, and make information readily available for anyone that wants to learn more, such as through fliers or public service announcements. The government can make a significant change, but government officials must let the American people change themselves, and only give them a nudge in the right direction.

                Ever since the Affordable Healthcare Act was proposed, the American people have had split opinions on whether it would help our nation or harm it. Right from the start, there have been many concerns over whether this was the right thing to do. According to the Urban Institute “if federal reform efforts fail, over the next decade, the percent of the population that is uninsured will increase, employer-sponsored coverage will continue to erode, spending on public programs will balloon, and individual and family out of pocket costs will rise.” This is a very scary future to look forward to if the Healthcare Act is to fail. However, there is a possibility that it will succeed and do great things for our nation. After reading the articles, I would say that most concerns with the policy’s implementation align with economic factors. What people are most concerned with now is how things will affect our already unstable economy. A good move could pull us back into prosperity, and a bad one could throw us into another depression. These are all very valid concerns to have, but no one seems to be focused on the health factor. The economy is very important, but this policy is meant to help people get healthy and stay healthy. I suppose that only time will tell as to whether the Affordable Healthcare Act will do more damage or good, but hopefully more good things will come than bad.