U5IP: Contemporary Issues in Healthcare

Course: Contemporary Issues in Healthcare

Unit: Impact of Innovation: Utilization, Cost and Quality of Care

Deliverable Length: 3-4 Pages

Lifestyle choices present major challenges to health care. Whether it is a diet that has a high caloric intake or respiratory problems that result from smoking, huge efforts must be made to provide care to individuals whose lifestyle choices exacerbate their incidence of developing a disease.

Examine the link between lifestyle choices and health care further, and discuss the following:

• What lifestyle choices did the Framingham heart study find related to the impact of disease?
• What about the Alameda County study?
• Based on what you have learned, should insurance companies charge individuals whose lifestyle choice influenced their incidence of diseases more than an individual whose degree of risk is much lower (similar to life insurance)? Why or why not?
  • If so, do you think it is unconstitutional to mandate individuals to provide additional information to determine the cost of their insurance?