It’s Time to Face the Music. Fear Is Driving Up Healthcare Costs

There are countless studies that show a link between fear of illness and avoiding care, especially as people approach middle age, with one recent UK study showing that as many as a third of people have avoided a doctor’s visit they deemed necessary. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, but can we afford evasive behaviors — avoidance — when it comes to wellness and wellbeing?

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as cancers, diabetes, heart and chronic lung diseases, account for 40 million (70%) of the world’s 56 million annual deaths. Practically half of the people who die from these often-treatable illnesses are under 70 years of age. While some lack access to care, is that the primary reason so many are treated when they are seriously ill? The…