Thanks to Dr. Gary Zartarian for reminding us of the costs of our “health care” system (“Opinion: The best defense to for-profit health insurance? Staying healthy.” Dec. 21). The decision to embrace all the emerging technologies and drugs and medical devices and short-change prevention efforts has brought us to this point.

High costs are “baked into the system” for the foreseeable future, due to the prevalence of chronic disease in our population. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity are all big business; huge, powerful constituencies are invested in the status quo.

Recently, I heard one of the physician past presidents of the American Cancer Society being interviewed on the anniversary of the “war on cancer” declared more than 50 years ago. He acknowledged that we now know many cancers can be prevented, then asked rhetorically how one could make a living that way.

Dr. Zartarian also pointed to the social determinants of health: adequate housing, a quality education, nutritious food, opportunities to exercise, etc., as being key to well-being. We’ve been led to believe that the system is responsible for keeping us healthy, but we have enormous potential to positively impact our own health. The best revenge really is to stay healthy.

Reforming the current system will require Herculean effort. Maine may once again lead the nation in reform, as the Maine Medical Association issued a strong statement late last year delineating the vast shortcomings of the present system and calling for significant reform. Let 2025 be the year we make real progress.

Mary Ann Larson
Bangor