With the recent Independence Day celebration in the United States, the one area of life that may not be quite as independent is in the area of healthcare. With the Affordable Care Act that was passed back in 2010, all Americans were forced to purchase into medical insurance plans from the major insurance companies in order to provide health insurance to those not previously able to afford health insurance. Even prior to the Affordable Care Act, the entire premise of health insurance is that you, your employer, and often both, pay into premiums for your healthcare insurance such that when you require medical care, procedures, or pharmaceutical medications, the healthcare insurance company will cover most, if not all of the cost. This sounds great in principle, but with escalating costs to the patients, and as well as the providers, this model is ultimately unsustainable.
When I was still serving in the military in the U.S. Air Force and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, I realized, early on, that I wanted to heal in a way that honored the innate wisdom that is designed into each and every one of our bodies. This is the wisdom that guides the body to breathe, without us having to think of breathing, digest our foods, no matter what we may choose to ingest, maintain the fine balance that is required to have that optimum heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, elimination, no matter what our actions every minute and every second of our days. Have you ever considered how miraculous your body really is? It’s not until something goes wrong that we gain just a tiny glimpse of the incredible function and cooperation of the approximately 100 trillion cells in our bodies that work together to support all that we do.
While I chose to heal my body in an integrative and holistic manner, the conventional medical system and the healthcare insurance system did not readily lend itself to my desired approach for my body. For example, I felt coerced to undergo chemotherapy, which I ultimately refused. I truly believe that had I undergone this method of injecting chemical toxins into my already compromised body that I would not be here writing this to you today. I was threatened with separation from the military for “refusing medical treatment” and ridiculed for my “simplistic” ideas of being able to heal using wheatgrass juice and green vegetable juice, along with an organic raw vegan diet. Oncologist after oncologist would reiterate to me that “Your diet has nothing to do with this cancer.” However, three months later of changing nothing except for my diet showed me that this statement could not be further from the truth. During this time, I saw my elevated tumor marker drop back to normal and the size of the tumor in my left ovary decrease in size.
When I sought out physicians who would be open to incorporating other non-conventional methods, along with other functional and holistic practitioners, that’s when I learned that the health care insurance that I had paid into for nearly thirty years, would not cover even a small percentage of my health care expenses in treatments that I actually believed would help. It dawned on me how limited my healthcare would be if I remained strictly within the guidelines of what the practitioners and treatments dictated by the healthcare insurance company. As a result, I’ve expended a large amount of personal finances in order to receive the care that I truly desired, and that’s after paying into nearly thirty years of health care insurance premiums. Why pay for something that you’re not really using?
Recently, I attended a Functional Forum presented by James Maskell’s Evolution of Medicine on a kNew Vision for American Medicine, which provides a new model of health care insurance that provides people with access to functional, integrative, and holistic medicine practitioners, to include health coaches. This effort is focused on creating a practitioner community that will facilitate the delivery of functional medicine to employers and insurance companies, while helping the practitioner community maintain their independence. This movement will bring together the expertise of a nationwide network of doctors and health coaches for the masses, allowing greater independence in health care choices.
Figure 1 With James Maskell, CEO of the Evolution of Medicine and the Functional Forum
The kNew Vision aims to create awareness of the kNew Health Cooperative, which is a movement to create a healthcare option that is accessible, affordable, and actually effective. It’s a model of health cost sharing where health coverage is provided to a group of people who pay a monthly sum to cover each other’s healthcare expenses. Instead of paying an insurance company to pay for your medical bills, you’re paying into a pool that you and your fellow members can access as healthcare needs arise.
With the traditional insurance model, you typically see a doctor who is considered in-network if they have an agreement or contract with the insurance company. You then pay your deductible and the doctor’s office bills the remainder of the amount to your insurance company. With a cost-sharing model, you would select your practitioner, pay the cash rate that is typically much lower than the insurance deductible rate. This bill would then be reimbursed by the cost-sharing organization in accordance with the rules of the group. The benefits are many, including 24/7 access to practitioners trained in the importance of nutrition and lifestyle, a functional medicine approach, less expenses than the traditional insurance model, and a decentralized approach to your health care.
I found the presentation from Lissa Rankin, MD, to be particularly poignant in understanding the culture in which most of us in the United States have grown up. She stated that we live in a culture that traumatizes us. In fact, the average American typically experiences the stress response over 50 times each day.
Figure 2 Lissa Rankin, MD
If we consider the American medical model, it is based on a reactionary, worse-case scenario focused model of operation. While this form of medicine excels at emergency and acute medical conditions, for many dealing with chronic conditions, this model falls short.
Instead, Dr. Rankin suggested that pain, rather than being the enemy, is really an ally. She explained that pain can be made into an acronym, P.A.I.N., and stand for: “Pay Attention Inside Now,” which I think is a wonderful way of looking within and redefining not only physical pain, but also emotional pain and its implications. In dealing with sickness and disease, understanding the context and environment is critical. In fact, the number one health risk factor is actually loneliness, which can trigger a chronic repetitive stress response. In Blue Zones, communities known for having more centenarians than other localities or cultures, we can see that being a part of a community is a vitally important component of living a long life in good health.
True change in our health care system—often more focused on disease care than on maintaining health and wellness—will have to be driven, not from the top, but from the grassroots level. The impetus must come from the masses because there is no financial incentive for the current system to change.
As you consider your health care, consider getting engaged with your local community, especially if the kNew Vision tour will be coming to your city. Learn more about this movement that is sweeping this country, become globally inspired, and let your voice be heard.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ~ Richard Buckminster Fuller
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