The cost of dining out is about to go up at various restaurants in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A slew of Minneapolis restaurants owned by Kim Bartmann will begin to charge customers an extra fee at the end of their meal to help pay for employees’ medical expenses. The affected restaurants include the Bryant Lake Bowl, Barbette, the Bird, and others. Each meal ticket will bill customers an extra three percent. The added cost is 60 cents for every $20 spent on food and drink. The money will be used to pay for the rising cost of employees’ health insurance and dental plans.

Price increases at restaurants are just one example of how rising medical costs will begin to show up all across the US economy. The costs of the medical system are too much for small businesses to bear, as owners struggle to provide health insurance coverage for their employees. It is inevitable that the rising costs will be passed on to consumers in various new forms. The medical system will eventually reach its tentacles into every corner of the US economy, inflating the costs of food and other goods and services. Like an invasion of rats, the medical system will eat out the remaining substance of the American economy. For an example, look no further than the state of Illinois, where medical expenses are bankrupting the state.

The Affordable Care Act has only perpetuated the problems with the medical system. Even though Obamacare disturbingly raised taxes on the uninsured, forcing more people to pay into a broken system, medical costs continued to go up, as insurance and pharmaceutical companies got richer. Current attempts to reform health care at the federal level will only shift costs and blame, until the people gain the courage to address the real problems with the collapsing health care system.

Rising healthcare costs return to the plate

Ironically, the rising cost of healthcare is returning to haunt the very places where it begins – at the plate, where food is served. Americans’ appetite for sugar, trans fats, chemical food additives, and nutrient-depleted food-like products is spawning an epidemic of chronic health issues. If individuals do not recognize the basic problems with the products they are consuming, then there is no hope at all, no matter what kind of healthcare reform bill comes along to shift the rising costs.

If Americans do not begin to learn how to heal their bodies naturally, then their dependence on synthetic drugs will take them all the way to the grave, causing more health problems and depleting their finances along the way. The healthcare system capitalizes on sick people who do not apply the knowledge and lifestyle strategies to heal their own bodies. A great place to begin learning is NaturalPedia.com, a database of information on healing foods and plants. HealingTheBody is another good resource, which has a great holistic program called Thrive that is changing lives.

Only true prevention strategies will lower medical costs

The medical system will only become more affordable if true prevention becomes the focus. Current “preventative” measures such as vaccines need to be re-evaluated because there are more immune system issues in America than ever before, driving up costs. Subsidizing vitamin D supplements and prenatal, whole food nutrition is one way to have better outcomes and less dependence on costly medical intervention. Herbal apothecaries that provide detoxification protocol, healing botanical extracts, and nutritional super foods should take precedence over pharmacies.

Pharmaceutical companies should be banned from wining and dining doctors and turning them into paid-off puppets. Pharmaceutical advertisements should be banned and should no longer have influence over politicians. Organizations that are supposedly pro-woman and pro-choice should be offering real-life support and more choices for bringing healthy lives into the world. Breastfeeding support is desperately needed for healthcare reform; according to a 2010 study published in Pediatrics, improving breastfeeding rates exclusively up to six months could save $13 billion annually in US healthcare costs. New mothers need time to connect with their newborn, to help build their baby’s brain and immune system. Adequate time off, midwifery services, wet nurse availability, breast milk banks, and increasing breast milk supply through nutrition should be a priority as families are given all the tools they need for good health from the start.

As the cost of healthcare continues to trickle down into every facet of the economy, it will be up to the individual to make changes. As the collapse continues, more people will find out that “healthcare” and “insurance” are just a mirage. After trusting the system and being pumped full of countless vaccines, antibiotics, antidepressants, statins, and all sorts of poisons that health insurance covers, these individuals will one day look in the mirror, regretful, suffering, doped up and broke.

Sources include:

Minnesota.CBSLocal.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

HealingTheBody.ca

ABCNews.com

ProPublica.org