Prevention Matters

A record crowd is expected to flock to Washington, D.C., next week to hear Barrack Obama's inaugural address, while millions more will watch it via television around the world. At a time when the country is debating how to reform the health care system, wouldn't it be a good time to call for a commitment to prevention?

Corinne G. Husten, Partnership for Prevention's interim president, thinks so. In a letter to Obama this week, she urged him to give prevention a prominent mention.

"Your historic address will rightfully challenge the nation in many areas," she wrote. "I urge you to challenge our congress to make prevention the vanguard of health reform. Keeping people healthy and preventing disease must be an important part of the solution in fixing our high-cost, low-yield health system."