KevinMD November 25, 2021
Health care costs in the U.S. have increased dramatically over the past five decades, from $74 billion in 1970 to $3.8 trillion in 2019. This trend has been fueled in large part by an increase in the number of people who struggle with chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and lung disease. Stanford University School of Medicine estimates that 50% of Americans suffer from a chronic condition and over 85% of U.S. health care spending goes toward treating patients with a chronic disease.
While the proliferation of chronic diseases in the U.S. is secondary in part to the aging of our population, behavioral risk factors such as cigarette smoking, obesity, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and excessive alcohol...