It’s all about preventive care
A century ago, Margaret Sanger and other reformers educated people on the benefits of family planning. People who heeded the message acquired the means to practice birth control.
The last 50 years have seen an explosion in studies which demonstrate the benefits of exercise to cardiovascular and cognitive health. People who heeded the message bought exercise equipment to pump iron and sneakers to go jogging.
The last 25 years enabled doctors to establish a link between oral hygiene and heart attacks. (The bacteria in teeth also cause plaque in arteries.) Many people who heard the message bought the required supplies to floss and brush better.
Recently, the HHS has determined that Obamacare requires insurance companies to provide free birth control and sterilization to women because this represents preventive care. Many people think this is the right thing to do. I have to ask, why are they not clamoring that insurance provide free sneakers, toothbrushes and dental floss? And don’t answer that this will cost too much. After all, preventive care is cheaper than the cost of dealing with complications of pregnancy, heart attacks and Alzheimers disease.
Herm Faubl
Huntley