Prevention Matters

In his latest budget proposal, New York Gov. David Paterson has proposed a tax on sugared drinks that would amount to about a penny an ounce. According to The Wall Street Journal's Jacob Goldstein, "the basic argument is that taxing soda and other sugared drinks would be a way to fight obesity while raising money to fund health care (the money raised by the proposed tax in New York would go into an existing pool that funds some of the state’s health expenses)."

The proposed tax (explained on  p. 130 of this PDF) would be levied on drinks "that contain more than ten calories per eight ounces, such as soda, sports drinks, ‘energy’ drinks, colas, fruit or vegetable drinks containing less than 70% natural fruit or vegetable juice, and bottled coffee or tea. Milk, milk products, milk substitutes, dietary aids, and infant formula would be exempt."

CNN's Mary Snow reports that New York Gov. David Patterson is open to revisiting the so called "fat tax" on soda.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in an interview with CQ HealthBeat that he is “well down the road” toward drafting a bill that would require private health insurers as well as Medicare and Medicaid provide better coverage and reimbursements for effective preventive health measures. That would include annual physicals, mammograms and colonoscopies.

“Prevention has to be incorporated in how we extend coverage, how we reform the payment system,” Harkin said

Among the elements of his legislation:

- An emphasis on a concept known as ‘integrative health,’ in which various practitioners collaborate in coordinated care on a patient’s physical, emotional and mental health

- tax credits for businesses that offer wellness programs such as smoking cessation or depression screening

- annual physicals and other preventive measures - whatever preventive service that gets a recommendation of an “A” or a “B” from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force - ought to be covered without co-pays or deductibles in any basic benefits private insurance policy