What if your ill-health was seen as a good thing?
That’s the icky thought that came to mind as I read a recent article about the relationship between the stocks of hospitals vs. those of insurance companies.
It works like this: If lots of us have poor health, landing us in the hospital, that means hospitals make a lot of money and their stock price goes up. Meanwhile, insurers who must pay for those hospital stays lose money and their stock prices go down.
Of course that winner/loser dynamic is just part and parcel of the stock market. But part of me has to ask “What about us?” When Wall Street makes money on hospital shares, does it care about the revenue-generating people in hospitals who are suffering ill health?
The same thing happens with convenience food companies. The more processed foods* we eat, the greater companies’ revenues and the higher their stock prices. That their processed foods are sickening us plays no part in Wall Street’s calculations.
Why share these things? There’s money to be made by betting on 1) us not discovering the dangers of processed foods and then 2) landing up in the hospitals (and then requiring expensive drugs which is great for pharmaceutical companies!)
That companies are gambling on my health makes me angry, but I funnel that anger productively to help fuel my healthy eating efforts. I don’t want to be a pawn in Wall Street’s gambits. So I challenge myself:
- What can I do to take better care of myself?
- What can I do to take control of my own health?
- What can I do to be more self-sufficient?
I hope this kind of information might be helpful fuel for you, too! Drop me a note and let me know what you think.
*The term “processed foods” in this kind of context, refers to just that category of processed foods known as “ultra-processed foods,” or “UPFs.” To understand the difference so you can better protect yourself, see the first part of my webinar, “Breaking Free of the Processed Food Force Field.”
Based on: “Insurer Results Make Hospital Investors Sweat,” WSJ, April 23, 2024, p. B12