Obamacare and TrumpCare have expensive entitlements. In
different ways, they aim to promote access to health care.
Why not include incentivizing healthy eating habits?
In the long run, we could lower
health care costs that are rooted in poor diet choices.
Suppose everyone (all 324 million of us) is given a $500 U.S.
Fruit&Veggie credit card a year for purchasing, well, fruits and veggies. That’s
$162 billion a year (assuming everyone uses the entitlement). For
perspective, we spend about $598 billion a year on our military.
The federal budget in 2015 was $3.8 trillion.
Potential Benefits:
Lower incidence of type-2 diabetes, heart disease and other
chronic diseases
Feed people while improving their health
Incentivize people to expand their food choices
Gets kids hooked on fruits and veggies
It’s non-compulsory—no taxes, no penalties
No participation is required
Increase income for growers, laborers, food processors,
logistics and grocers
Fraud resistant program since fruits and veggies are highly perishable
and have significant storage costs
Lower blood sugar, achieve better weight management, and promote disease-preventive
nutrition
…. In short, a healthier nation—and a healthier nation should
mean lower health insurance costs.
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