Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Gould Letter to Washington Post Questions Media's Take on Prevention
Posted by Partnership for Prevention at 7:51 AMThe Washington Post printed the following letter from Partnership President/CEO Robert J. Gould in its Sept. 8 edition:
"It's bad enough that in the debate over health reform, the media's only interest regarding disease prevention and health promotion seems to revolve around the question of whether prevention will save enough money to pay for the health-reform bill. But the Sept. 1 news story "Study Raises Questions About Cost Savings From Preventive Care" seemed to go further by implying that the country should fund highly effective programs for controlling diabetes only if they save money.
"The fact is, while some preventive measures save money, almost all of them provide real value in that they offer more health benefits per dollar spent than many medical treatments do. While this may not pay the freight for health reform, it will help our country stretch its health-care dollar.
"That is indeed worth something. And, oh yes, prevention measures also help people live longer and healthier lives. Isn't that what our health-care system is supposed to be about?"
Labels: reform, Robert J. Gould, savings, Washington Post
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I do believe, looking at the news, that we’ve lost the argument on the savings from prevention and it’s because (in part) we in health care are too navel-focused.
The fact is, better health and longer life is a significant driver of economic productivity/security.
We’ve got to get outside our own piece of the economic pie and draw the linkages between health and the economy from a broader perspective than spending within our sector. We’ve got to make it an investment and according to the economists I talk to, aside from primary education, it is better investment than education generally and returns value at the personal, family, employer, societal and governmental levels.