More people, computers, space = more costs for a medical home compared to a standard medical practice and these costs have to come from patients or taxpayers.

Quickly, visits to ERs plummet and hospitalizations decrease neutralizing much of the increased cost of the medical homes, but some big medical centers don’t want hospitalizations to decrease. Longer term patients are less sick thereby using fewer medical services and drugs, but drug companies and medical centers don’t want this to happen. As more medical homes emphasize lifestyle medicine, especially a whole food plant based diet, medical costs plummet, but drug companies, insurance companies, medical centers, specialty physicians (the legacy players of Pearl’s book Mistreated) are then taking a big hit.

Is the idea that lifestyle medicine can reduce total health costs an unproven hypothesis? No! McDougall and Ornish have both published well designed studies documenting large drops in the total cost of medical care in patients who are trained and monitored by lifestyle medical practices. And most patients will adhere to this program when it is well and logically presented.