Prevention Matters

A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) highlights the continued concern of disparities in our healthcare system. As in previous reports, the disparities relate to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status and "are prevalent in almost all areas of healthcare, including preventive care, treatment of acute conditions, and managment of chronic diseases".

The widest gap was seen between low-income and high-income patients, followed by Hispanics and non-Hispanics, then blacks and whites. The report also highlights the importance of the new healthcare reform law. Not surprisingly it showed that uninsured people were far less likely to receive preventive services, including mammograms, Pap smears, dental care, counseling about diet and exercise, and flu vaccination.

Christianne Johnson
Program Manager
Partnership for Prevention

The passage of a health reform bill that emphasizes prevention and wellness was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while reduced life expectancy due to preventable risk factors was named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week."

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

Obama Signs Historic Health Reform Law, Steps Up Focus on Prevention and Wellness

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the health care bill into law. The new federal health reform law (HR 3590) includes many provisions aimed at disease prevention and promoting healthy lifestyles. The law creates a $15 billion fund for programs designed to promote prevention and wellness, such as efforts to address obesity and to help patients manage chronic diseases. The law also establishes a National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council to coordinate federal efforts to promote healthy living. In addition, the health care reform law:

• Eliminates copayments for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries receiving preventive services;
• Increases reimbursement rates for physicians who offer certain preventive services;
• Provides grants to small business for establishing wellness programs and incentives for employers to offer workers as much as 50% off their premiums for participating in such programs; and
• Requires chain restaurants and vending machines to disclose nutritional information.

WORST

Four Preventable Risk Factors Reduce Life Expectancy in U.S. and Lead to Health Disparities

A new study led by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in collaboration with researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimates that smoking, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose and overweight and obesity currently reduce life expectancy in the U.S. by 4.9 years in men and 4.1 years in women. It is the first study to look at the effects of those four preventable risk factors on life expectancy in the whole nation.