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U.s. Taxpayers Paid $ 256 Billion For Healthcare

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In 1980, U.S. taxpayers paid $256 billion for healthcare services. In 2012, they paid nearly $2.8 trillion for healthcare services (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2012). This represents a tenfold increase in a single generation. Although some of the most expensive medical conditions to treat may not be preventable, there are a myriad of preventable diseases that add to the economic burden that Americans carry each year. When one also considers the rise in childhood obesity rates and other related and non-related chronic illnesses, the role of nurses as educators in our schools and communities has become critical to the continued success of our nation.
In 2009, data were collected by the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) that clearly demonstrated the relationship between health risk behaviors and academic achievement in high school students. Students with higher grades were less likely to engage in health risk behaviors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diets, and increased sexual activity. Unfortunately, the statistics reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for health risk behaviors in American adults were grim. In 2012, 42 million adults reported that they smoked cigarettes and nearly 47% of American adults have at least one major risk factor for heart disease or stroke. These included uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled high levels of LDL cholesterol, lack of aerobic exercise, and poor nutrition.

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