The Cost of Sickness: Why American Healthcare Needs a Preventive Wellness Overhaul

We spend more on healthcare than any other developed nation, yet we’re sicker, more medicated, and more dependent on intervention than ever before. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune conditions, and anxiety disorders are skyrocketing. And while conventional medicine has become increasingly sophisticated at treating symptoms, it continues to fall short where it matters most: prevention.

Our healthcare system was never designed to make us truly well. It was designed to manage illness—preferably over the long term, preferably with repeat prescriptions, and preferably with minimal disruption to the industries profiting off our dysfunction. Pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, government health policy, and corporate food interests are not just failing to protect us. They are actively shaping a system where treating sickness is far more profitable than preventing it.

And the cost isn’t just financial. It’s physical, emotional, generational.

This post is a call to rethink what healthcare should be. We’ll explore how the system is rigged to treat symptoms instead of root causes, why prevention remains out of reach for most Americans, and how true reform must include wellness professionals, food access, and a shift in national priorities.

Because if we really want to reduce disease, lower costs, and restore health in this country—we need to stop funding dysfunction and start building systems that actually make people well.

The Economics of Disease — Why Treating Sickness Pays More Than Preventing It

The United States spends over $4 trillion a year on healthcare. That’s nearly 20% of our GDP—yet more than 90% of that spending goes toward treating chronic conditions, not preventing them. Heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, anxiety, and depression make up the lion’s share of medical costs—and yet these are largely preventable, lifestyle-driven illnesses.

So why aren’t we doing more to prevent them?

Because there’s no scalable profit model in prevention. There’s no recurring revenue stream in someone who’s well.

Pharmaceutical companies thrive on recurring prescriptions—not root-cause resolution. Insurance companies are built to reimburse procedures, not education. And hospitals earn more from a lifetime of checkups, scans, medications, and complications than from one well-informed patient who takes ownership of their health.

This is why your insurance will cover a gastric bypass surgery, but not 12 weeks of nutritional counseling. Why you can get thousands of dollars in reimbursement for insulin and blood pressure meds—but nothing for high-quality food or gym memberships. We cover disease management in this country like it’s a necessity, but treat health creation like it’s a personal hobby.

This isn’t just inefficient—it’s backward. And it’s bankrupting us, both financially and physically.

If we reallocated even a fraction of our sick-care spending toward true prevention—nutrition education, behavior change support, somatic healing, nervous system regulation—we wouldn’t just see fewer hospital visits. We’d see fewer medications. Fewer diagnoses. More energy. Better quality of life. Greater productivity. Less suffering.

But to make that shift, we have to confront the uncomfortable truth: sickness is big business. And until we stop feeding the system, it won’t stop feeding on us.

The Prevention Gap — What’s Missing from Mainstream Care

We hear a lot about “prevention” in modern healthcare—but most of it is lip service.

In reality, what’s marketed as preventive care often amounts to little more than early detection: annual physicals, lab work, screenings, and monitoring. These tools are important, but they’re not preventive. They simply catch disease earlier in its progression. True prevention means keeping the body in balance before symptoms ever appear. It means educating, supporting, and equipping people to stay well—not just alerting them once they’re already on the path to dysfunction.

And this is where our system fails completely.

Most Americans are never taught how to nourish themselves. They’re not guided through stress management, movement, nervous system regulation, or detoxification basics. They don’t receive support to change habits, optimize digestion, or rebuild resilience. And if they want to work with someone who can help them do that—a certified health coach, holistic nutritionist, or functional practitioner—it comes out of pocket, with zero insurance coverage.

This is the prevention gap. And it’s massive.

As a health coach and nutritionist, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when people are given consistent, personalized support. When someone finally understands how to eat for energy, balance their blood sugar, strengthen their gut, and shift their environment—their entire health trajectory changes. They reverse early symptoms, reduce reliance on medications, and reclaim their confidence in their body. And they do it without expensive interventions—just knowledge, tools, and consistency.

But for most people, that level of support is out of reach.

We’ve medicalized sickness while ignoring the everyday behaviors that determine 80% of our health outcomes. We’ve labeled evidence-based lifestyle guidance as “alternative,” and denied coverage for the very services that could reduce our nation’s disease burden at scale.

Until we bridge this prevention gap, we will keep spending trillions on managing dysfunction—and keep calling it healthcare.

Barriers by Design — How Policy, Pharma, and Insurance Collude to Keep Us Sick

If the current healthcare system seems resistant to change, it’s not because we lack solutions. It’s because too many powerful interests benefit from maintaining the status quo.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most influential lobbying forces in Washington. In 2023 alone, drugmakers spent over $373 million lobbying federal lawmakers¹—more than oil, defense, and tech combined. And what are they lobbying for? Faster drug approvals. Fewer restrictions. Longer patents. And most of all, continued dependence on medications that don’t cure—just manage.

Meanwhile, the insurance industry reinforces this sick-care model by denying coverage for proactive services like health coaching, functional medicine consults, and nutrition therapy—while fully covering invasive procedures and long-term prescriptions. Providers are incentivized to spend 10 minutes per patient and code for symptoms, not root causes. There’s no billing code for “reconnected with their body” or “avoided chronic illness through food, movement, and nervous system healing.”

And it doesn’t stop there. Federal policy props up this dysfunction through subsidies for industrial agriculture, leniency on food additives and chemicals, and a lack of regulatory enforcement on marketing to children and vulnerable populations. We make it harder to access clean food than to buy a Happy Meal. We allow companies to flood our shelves with endocrine disruptors, inflammatory oils, and neurotoxic dyes—and then wonder why rates of metabolic, autoimmune, and cognitive disorders keep climbing.

This is not a coincidence. It’s a multi-layered ecosystem of profit built on widespread dysfunction.

When people are confused, inflamed, stressed, and fatigued—they become perfect customers for quick-fix solutions. They cycle through prescriptions, rely on a system that never educates them, and blame themselves for “not trying hard enough.” And while they struggle to piece together their health, the machine keeps churning.

If we want real change, we have to stop pretending this system just needs tweaks. It needs a structural, values-driven overhaul—one that prioritizes health sovereignty over market share.

What Real Healthcare Reform Should Look Like

If we want to shift from a system that profits off sickness to one that promotes wellness, we must reimagine healthcare from the ground up. This means implementing policies that prioritize prevention, education, and access to holistic care. Here’s what that could look like:

1. Insurance Reimbursement for Preventive Services
• Health Coaches and Nutritionists: Insurance plans should cover services provided by certified health coaches and nutritionists. These professionals play a crucial role in guiding individuals toward healthier lifestyles, which can prevent chronic diseases and reduce long-term healthcare costs.
• Functional Medicine Practitioners: Support for integrative and functional medicine approaches can address root causes of illness rather than just symptoms.

2. Tax Incentives for Healthy Living
• Wellness Expenses: Provide tax deductions or credits for expenses related to gym memberships, fitness classes, wellness retreats, and other activities that promote physical and mental health.
• Nutritional Support: Offer incentives for purchasing organic, whole foods and supplements that support overall well-being.

3. Government-Funded Nutrition Education and Food-as-Medicine Programs
• Community Initiatives: Invest in programs that educate communities about the importance of nutrition and provide access to healthy foods.
• School Programs: Implement comprehensive nutrition education in schools to instill healthy habits from a young age.

4. Support for Regenerative Agriculture and Local Food Systems
• Subsidies for Sustainable Farming: Redirect agricultural subsidies to support regenerative farming practices that produce nutrient-dense foods.
• Local Food Access: Facilitate the development of local food hubs and farmers’ markets to increase access to fresh, healthy foods.

5. Integration of Wellness Services into Healthcare Systems
• Collaborative Care Models: Encourage healthcare providers to incorporate wellness services, such as stress management and lifestyle coaching, into standard care plans.
• Preventive Care Metrics: Shift healthcare quality metrics to include preventive care outcomes, rewarding providers for keeping patients healthy.

By implementing these reforms, we can create a healthcare system that truly prioritizes health, reduces the burden of chronic disease, and empowers individuals to take control of their well-being.

Rethink Where You’re Spending—And Start Investing in Health

The truth is, we don’t have a healthcare system.
We have a disease management system.
And it’s costing us—financially, physically, and spiritually.

We’ve accepted a model that profits when we stay sick and leaves wellness unsupported, unfunded, and largely inaccessible. But we don’t have to keep playing by those rules. We can choose to spend differently. Vote differently. Live differently.

Start by asking yourself:
Where is your money going right now?
Are you spending more on managing symptoms than on building health?
Are you investing in true nourishment, movement, and healing—or outsourcing your vitality to a system that benefits from your dependence?

It’s time to flip the script.

Start small. Prioritize real food. Move your body. Work with a practitioner who sees you as a whole human. Shift your spending from reaction to prevention—because no one is coming to do it for you. Not the government. Not the insurance companies. Not the pharmaceutical industry.

Change starts with us. But policy must follow.

That’s why I’ll continue using my voice—and my work as a health coach—to push for a system that values root-cause healing, nutrition education, and health freedom. Because we deserve a future where being well is the norm—not the exception.

If you believe in that future too, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter and join a community of people choosing to invest in themselves—fully, intentionally, and unapologetically.
And if this post resonated with you, please share it. The more we talk about this, the harder it becomes to ignore.