The economist Milton Friedman, a Nobel Prize winner, said, "When a man (precedes gender consciousness) spends his own money to buy something for himself, he is very careful how much he spends and how he spends it. When a man spends his own money to buy something for someone else, he is very careful how much he spends but somewhat less careful about what he spends it on. When a man spends someone elses money to buy something for himself, he is very careful about what he buys, but doesn't care at all about what he spends. And when a man spends someone elses money on someone else, he doesn't care how much he spends or what he spends it on. And that's the government for you."

With the trend toward higher deductibles in both the employer and individual health insurance markets, we find ourselves spending our own money for health care. Now we should begin to see people spending more carefully and buying more wisely. They should also be more receptive to behavioral changes such as diet, exercis ang good preventive care.