Employers Want Your Blood

What we want most here at Bodyhack is for everyone to be healthy, strong and live a long life. But
what happens when circumstances outside your control interfere with those goals? There could be various answers to that question but one thing is certain: being sick is expensive.

Loren Steffy writes that in an effort to reduce costs in our "broken-beyond-repair health care system," some employers are asking workers to donate blood, hoping diagnostic tests will catch problems early. Makes sense, no?

…there is an irony to these programs. Our current health care system is based on the notion that if people don't have to pay for it, they will go the doctor too often. So the system is designed to curb this "abuse."

Aren't you just dying to go to the doctor, because it's so fun? If healthcare were free, wouldn't you be there, like, every day? Except for the hypochondriacs among us, the answer is likely no.

On the other hand, a diabetic, for example, might get that little sore on her foot checked before it turns into a huge ulcer leading to amputation. Most of us would have checkups when we should (including vaccines and other preventive care), which just might lead to healthier people and lower healthcare costs in the long run. Just a thought.

Price we pay for healthcare isn't all financial [Houston Chronicle]