The case for investing in disease prevention (Sen. Tom Harkin)

Yesterday, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers released a new report entitled “The Economic Case for Health Care Reform.”  The report [pdf here] states that health care costs in the U.S., currently at about 18 percent of the GDP, could rise to 34 percent of the GDP by 2040 if current spending continues.  The report went on to say, however, that “…an emphasis on prevention, is likely to help restrain cost growth.” I could not agree more.

All stakeholders in the health reform debate—from providers and economists to patients and businesses—agree one of the keys to reining in the rising costs of health care in this country is to reduce chronic disease.  More than 75 percent of all medical expenditures are accounted for by chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stress and depression – many of which are preventable by changes in diet and lifestyle.  Yet less than three percent of our health care spending goes toward prevention and wellness. The only way we can rein in skyrocketing health care costs that are making it so difficult for families to afford coverage, and placing such strain on our whole economy, is to invest in prevention efforts that can be incorporated into how we extend coverage, how we reform the payment system and how we engage in systems reform. 

The report underscores what I have been saying from the beginning: if we pass comprehensive health care reform that extends coverage to all Americans, yet does nothing to reform our broken system, we will have failed.  It makes the case for why we need to invest in wellness and prevention.