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Renegade Health Care Plan, Part Three
By John Davies, Founder of Renegade Training
Nov 12, 2009
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In part 2 of the Renegade Health Care Plan we addressed the the health care crisis and the financial health of nations. With National Health Expenditures expected to increase to four trillion dollars in the United States alone by 2015, all of society must act together lest the situation will devastate our long term future.
Within the United States (as well as many nations), the dilemma of managing exploding health care costs is further complicated by an aging population that will see approximately twenty percent of its citizenry enter their "senior" years by 2030. While the issue of simply balancing budgets is problem enough with a fully available work force, escalating costs and burdensome interest payments of debt in conjunction with lowering standards of health are further proof the issue must be attacked from multiple directions. The facts are simple, as the massive societal changes of the previous century that accelerated in the late 1970s, lay at the root of the problem and must be dealt with sternly or the cost will be the severe.
It should be clearly understood that this is an issue that is neither a matter for political bickering or restricted to only certain parts of the globe. While it is true that within the United States the issue is creating a hellish storm of opinions on health care from both sides of the political aisles, it is not solely an American problem and can be seen in many nations. Dietary habits within the United Kingdom are deplorably low with many similar crises coming down the pipe, while in France McDonalds enjoys one of its fastest growing markets. In a nation known for its culinary expertise, some thirty years since the fast-food giant opened its first location on the Champs-Elysees, roughly 1,100 locations later the nation has seen enormous changes to its typical diet and of-course with rising rates of obesity. Using this as an example and said in the most simple of terms, preventable issues such as obesity that relate to poor diet as well smoking and alcohol consumption have no border.
While many in the fitness industry will attempt to deal with this in normal exercise channels, despite their good intention this is not sufficient. Despite ours being a society that spends more than ever on exercise and fitness, it is plagued with the worst levels of health. The root of this problem might be one for future debate but the facts are participation in healthy activities and passive exercise is dropping whilst dietary habits are terribly poor.
The modern training professional must emerge as a conduit for the private sector to improve employee overall health and quite obviously reduce costs. This can only be done via a value-for-money approach between training professional and client that creates a significant positive financial incentive for employers. Though this commentary has all the phraseology typically seen within the present-day "wellness sector", the next phase of this growth market involves a much broader service typically provided by the training professional and involves all levels of employers, but with the key ingredient of an incentive based program.
Looking briefly within my pet "2020" project of Renegade Training, we target this area by recommending employers offer a financial incentive plan that rewards employees taking part in a standardized Health Care assessment with further step-up programs in participation in diet plan changes, often through adjustments to workplace cafeterias where possible and exercise programs managed both during and after work hours. In this highly proactive plan we have moved far beyond the normal confines of "wellness programs," making sweeping changes to the organizational behaviour of the company. Wellness programs have often catered to middle-management and upper executives and need to be expanded upon and involved in a broader paternal organization, including on-the-job programs for heavy labour and other factory-line workers. While the issue of injuries sustained at work is only part of the problem, by implementing a plan that includes short "active" breaks of group exercise to alleviate muscle fatigue we are able to move to the next section of
 incentive programs that involve post work fitness classes and group building activities along with broader lifestyle behaviour modification approaches to reduce smoking and alcohol consumption.
In the briefest of summaries, as you consider that estimates suggest that roughly twenty-five per-cent of total health care expense relate to areas that can be dealt with proactively, the concern of runaway health care costs is not crippling to society but the largest potential market the professional trainer sector has ever had before it and likely ever will. The biggest step for the training sector and one that I grapple with on a daily basis, is to push the boundaries of professionalism within the industry and demand more from its members so that we can play a role in solving the health care problem.
Disclaimer: The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.
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