NAVIGATING THE HEALTHCARE MAZE by Gregory J. Hummer, MD

The most important thing to remember is that doctors try to "fix" you, so the key to affordable healthcare is to STAY HEALTHY. The important word here is "try." Know this, a great deal of the time medical interventions for preventable disease fail and actually do even greater harm. Just being admitted to a hospital exposes you to a 30% chance of death from an event that may not even be associated with your problem. So, stay healthy and try to avoid doctors if at all possible. 

Why do Americans consume 85% of all drugs manufactured in the world?  Simple, because doctors seriously over prescribe. They are trained to. They are cajoled to by pharmaceutical companies and also by their own patients that are duped by TV ads. You've all seen the ads where the announcer rattles off a list of side effects and finally ends by announcing "and could cause death." Would you take a drug that could cause death?

The first requirement to staying healthy is to do what is necessary to keep from seeing a doctor or being hospitalized. That means the following:

• Drink good water - most bottled water is not good for you.
• Eat a non-inflamatory diet (Avoid processed foods and high levels of sugar)
  
• Maintain a healthy weight (BMI 18.5-29.9)
  
• Avoid nicotine and nicotine products (Vaping, cigarettes, etc.)
  
• Manage stress - chronic stress will impair your immune system, leads to illness and certain cancers.
  

Most importantly, realize that the American health system is a very big business and now is 17.5% of our GDP. That's just incredible. You need to start realizing that more than half of all health care expenditures are completely unnecessary and another big chunk is pure fraud comprised of over billing and gouging by hospitals and unscrupulous providers. It's time to Pay yourself to be healthy, NOT pay the doctor or hospital to be sick. Over 85% of all disease is preventable and it all starts with you!

The Freedom HealthShare wellness program is comprised of Certified Health Coaches and Nurses to help you navigate through the healthcare maze, give you guidance when it's appropriate to see a doctor or when to use certain self-care techniques or inexpensive options such as telemedicine. They will be an advocate for you. They can help negotiate prices for services. Our point of service payment system is unique in that it helps create pricing transparency, so please urge ALL providers to use it. In most cases it's less expensive to fly you to a center of excelence than visit just any old hospital. We ALL have to start making a difference. The path that we have chosen for ourselves and health care is unsustainable. ‎ It's time to exercise your FREEDOM.