All Americans would benefit from a paradigm shift in healthcare, one that emphasized preventative care and addressing the causes of illness above treating symptoms. This would free up doctors to care for the seriously ill, and free up money, as preventative care is much cheaper in the long run. This would provide significant savings to the insurance companies, which SHOULD then be passed along to us, in the form of reduced premiums and co-pays.

Pharmaceutical companies oppose this shift in policy, as they reap enormous profits from the current system in which their drugs are used to treat symptoms, more of their drugs are used to treat the side-effects of the initial drugs, and the underlying cause of the illness is ignored. Perhaps Mr. Obama's stand against special interests and desire to reform healthcare could be combined in this situation.

Alternative health care providers such as nutritionists, acupuncturists, emotional counselors, massage therapists, physical therapists, and chiropractors should be recruited to serve as the front line of defense against the onset of disease and as an adjunct to a doctor's care, should illness still develop. The new health insurance system will be seriously flawed if coverage does not include these adjunct treatment providers.

We have established that the primary method of gaining and maintaining health is through healthy diet and exercise. Coverage should also include incentives for us to take these health issues more seriously, rather than expecting to swallow a pill and change nothing about our lifestyle. If we are willing to bicycle more to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, why not also do it to reduce our dependence on drugs and hospital stays? If the government will provide a tax deduction for buying a hybrid vehicle because it benefits us all, why not do the same for a gym membership or a smoking cessation program?

This shift is already happening among individuals. People who are fed up with the failures of and damage done by the current system are seeking alternative therapies, but the current system is making it as difficult as possible. By fighting against patients' rights to explore the best path to health, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and the established healthcare system are CAUSING HARM to their patients and to our country as a whole, in order to benefit themselves. Doctors who may feel threatened by the increased role these adjunct providers will play may feel better if they reread their Hippocratic Oath.

Everyone wants his or her loved ones to be taken care of when they are ill. As the world's most advanced nation, we can and should provide that for our citizens. But how much better would it be to avoid illness, or at least decrease its severity, whenever possible?