Prevention Matters

A Colorado congresswoman's efforts to determine a "Prevention Dividend" for taxpayers was named Partnership for Prevention's Best Prevention Idea of the Week, while a North Dakota legislator's efforts to undo a voter-mandated tobacco initiative was named the Worst Prevention Idea of the week.

The Best/Worst Idea awards are a regular feature of Prevention Matters, the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Each week, Partnership for Prevention's staff will choose the designees based on nominations of items in the previous week's news submitted by members, staff and the public at large. To submit a nomination or for more information, contact Damon Thompson at dthompson@prevent.org .


BEST

Congresswoman Developing Metric for “Prevention Dividend”

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-CO, says she’s exploring a new way to calculate not simply the costs of preventative care, but the long-term benefits — what she calls the "prevention dividend." “We need to put a new emphasis on preventative care — anti-smoking efforts, cancer screening and pre-natal care, where every dollar spent saves four dollars in long-term care,” she says.


WORST

North Dakota State Sen. John Andrist, R-Crosby, introduced legislation asking the state's voters to undo their approval last November of an initiative that mandated millions of dollars for anti-tobacco efforts. The measure by Andrist, who says he doesn’t think voters fully understood what they were voting on, would divert and dilute funding that the voters directed to prevention and cessation program. UPDATE: The Senate approved the measure April 29 by a 24-23 vote, but a House committee gutted the measure a day later.