By R.E. Wermus, The Daily Signal | February 01, 2025
Health care costs are soaring while Americans’ health deteriorates, says former food and pharmaceutical consultant Calley Means, who points to rising rates of autism, childhood prediabetes, and other conditions.
“We are 4% of the world population but produce 75% of pharmaceutical profits, and are 60th in life expectancy,” Means said during an interview on “The Kevin Roberts Show.”
Means is the co-founder of a company focused on preventative measures in health care and the co-author, with his sister Casey, of “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.”
He noted that 50% of teenagers are overweight or obese, and 77% of military-aged Americans are ineligible for service due to health issues.
Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, traced the problems to the post-World War II period when pharmaceutical companies earned the trust of Americans following the discovery of antibiotics.
“From 1965 on, almost all the focus of the medical system was on chronic. So, it was on medicalizing things like heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, things like this,” he explained. “Today, 95% of medical spending is on chronic conditions.”
After losing their mother to pancreatic cancer, Means and his sister Casey, a Stanford Medical School graduate, founded Truemed, a company promoting preventative health care through fitness tools and supplements.
Means said the American health care system is not curing chronic conditions but rather ignoring and masking symptoms. This is leading to increasing rates of cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune conditions, and more.
“The medical system is failing,” Means told Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation. “We’re the sickest country in the developed world. Our kids are on the verge of, truly, collapse.”
Means advocates for what he calls “traditionally conservative” solutions to America’s health crisis: “It’s trusting people, it’s unleashing human capital, it’s pro-growth.”
R.E. Wermus is a journalism intern for The Daily Signal.
Original article link
