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No one really likes being told what to do. Personal freedom is something that many people take for granted and individuals can get very testy when they feel like their lifestyle is being dictated to them. The healthcare debate is sufficiently complex and there do not seem to be many simple solutions. Many players are involved and there are a variety of agendas. One of the things that has happened over time is that health insurance companies have begun to dictate lifestyle choices to their subscribers. This definitively rubs some people the wrong way because it feels like a violation of their liberty. Here are a few thoughts on this practice and how it affects the healthcare debate.

What do you expect?

A health insurance company is a business. They are not a charitable organization and they are not a nonprofit entity. While some people may believe that an insurance company should have a certain amount of compassion, the reality is that money is typically the primary concern. Therefore, insurance companies are going to do everything that they can to minimize their costs and maximize their profit. When people get sick or people get injured it costs the insurance company money which they do not wish to pay out.

Choices

The challenge for many people is that they do not have a wide variety of choices when it comes to healthcare. If someone doesn't like the deal that they get at a particular store, they may have the opportunity to go to a variety of other vendors and shop for a better price. In this regard, the insurance company may feel a bit oppressive because the individual may be stuck with that particular institution. This may be because that is the company that has contracted with their employer or because that insurance company is the only one they can find that will ensure them.

Silver lining

It may feel like a violation of liberty to have a health insurance company dictate what people can eat, how much they exercise, and what they should do during the day. However, one way to look at the situation is to recognize that being healthier is usually a better state of being anyway. Left to our own choices in today's society, we as people have not always made the best decisions. We are not, on the whole, a particularly healthy nation.

Individuals may not trust the motivations of insurance companies and in some situations it may be wise to be wary of profit-making methodologies. However, people are always looking for ways to motivate themselves to better health. A large, unfeeling corporation may not be the type of accountability that some people have in mind. Still, being healthy and saving personal healthcare costs is ultimately the goal for many individuals. Therefore, it may be best to use the situation at hand and take control of one's own lifestyle in order to live a healthier and happier life.

Learn more about this author, Todd Pheifer.
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