Will health care reform happen?

Will health care reform legislation ever happen in this country?

As I write this, legislative reform seems to have fallen victim to the incredibly divisive and polarized political climate of our day.

That’s tragic, as most everyone – regardless of their political leanings – seems to agree that the current health care system is flawed. Skyrocketing costs, the presence of millions of uninsured Americans and the lack of adequate preventive care for our poorest citizens all portray a broken system. It needs fixing. And while left and right can certainly debate the proper methods to go about fixing it, their failure to act hurts us all.

But in a very real sense, health care reform is happening, every day. Reform happens when individuals take more responsibility for their own health care. It occurs when individuals educate themselves and take on more decisions about their own wellness. Reform has seen more people turn to complementary medicine – sometimes to seek help with health issues unresolved by allopathic medicine but more often as a preventive action. As often happens, it is the people who lead the way to change.

So, perhaps we ought to change the debate to one about wellness reform. After all, our current health care system seems all too focused on illness, a very reactive stance mostly responding to health crises. Instead, let’s consider wellness reform.

Here are some examples of wellness reform: In the workplace, some companies are actively encouraging their employees to adopt healthier lifestyles. We’ve written before about the Well Workplace/Well City USA initiative to build healthier communities across the country. More than 30 Milwaukee businesses have risen to that challenge and been granted Well Workplace status (yes, Outpost is one) as Milwaukee strives to become a Well City.

In Milwaukee County, our buses now carry bike racks, in one effort to encourage bicycling and reduce automobile usage. At the statewide level, a comprehensive smoking ban will prohibit smoking in taverns and restaurants starting July 5.

But, as I wrote earlier, most of the reform is happening at the individual level, as men and women shoulder (by choice or otherwise) more responsibility for their own wellness.

We have several stories in the Exchange this month about wellness. We check in with some local holistic practitioners to see what impact the recession has had on them. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people are turning to simpler ways to keep healthy. We also consider the evidence that tea is good for your health. And finally, if you haven’t yet been convinced that wellness reform is indeed occurring, we highlight the many smartphone applications that can help us live healthier lives.

Look around you: health care reform may be waiting in your cup of tea or on the phone in the palm of your hand.