The One Thing: Preventative Care

Amidst all the arguments and fights being made in defense (and in opposition) of health care today, there is one topic that seems to be agreed by all: the need for preventative care. The President called for it over and over again during his campaign, and Congress is writing legislation about this topic in some of its bills. As part of preventative care, many would catch serious diseases, that cost health insurance companies a lot of money to treat later on, earlier on, and save lives along with money. What they're not doing, however, is going far enough. The government, and private companies, should make treatment on certain diseases dependent on how much you worked to prevent it. I know this sounds stupid at first but let me explain. Obviously, if you are 30 years old and have a type of cancer that is common only for older men, you shouldn't be punished for not trying to detect the disease earlier on. If, however, you are in your 50s, yet refuse to go to a checkup and see if you are developing a common cancer at your age (and years later you find out that this cancer has spread throughout your body), you should be to blame, and the burden of paying for this treatment should be placed upon you. Forcing some one to go to cancer screenings or other checkups is impossible, but using money as leverage would drastically reduce the cost of health care, and create a much healthier nation.