Mike Enzi Doesn’t Believe That Exercise is Good for You

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s health reform bill is mostly focused on health insurance and the provision of health care. But it does contain some elements pertaining to public health. And anyone who looks at it knows that health care is actually not that crucial a determinant of public health outcomes. Genetics matters an enormous amount. And then “lifestyle” factors—what you eat, how much you exercise, etc.—also matters a lot. So the bill includes a public health grant program aimed at encouraging exercise. And Elena Schor observes that Senator Mike Enzi (D-WY) apparently finds it outrageous that the Senate might consider walking to be a form of health promoting exercise, slamming the idea of a bill that would “pave sidewalks, build jungle gyms” and so forth.

Instead, his plan is to solve our health care problems through magic: “We need to root out the waste, fraud and abuse that is driving up health care costs.” Schor also quotes Mitch McConnell (R-KY) denouncing “things like having the government build sidewalks.” I seriously doubt that sidewalk funding is going to be more than a tiny fraction of the cost, but of course the government is going to build sidewalks. That’s who builds sidewalks!