FixHealthCarePolicy

The Great Myth of Prevention “Savings”

Washington Post op-ed columnist Charles Krauthammer in a piece today takes on the myth that prevention measures will magically reduce overall health care spending and lower costs in the long run. It’s a talking point Democractic Congressional leadership and President Barack Obama have been using as the main way to pay for their proposed $1 trillion-plus health care overhaul.

But as Krauthammer explains, “like most conventional wisdom, it is wrong. Overall, preventive care increases medical costs.”

“This inconvenient truth comes, once again, from the CBO. In an Aug. 7 letter to Rep. Nathan Deal, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf writes: ‘Researchers who have examined the effects of preventive care generally find that the added costs of widespread use of preventive services tend to exceed the savings from averted illness.’”

See the full article here.

Tags: Doug Elmendorf, President Obama, prevention, savings

Health Reform Could Induce Companies to Drop Wellness Plans

In addition to concerns that a government-run health insurance plan could set the stage for employers to shift their workers onto a public plan to reduce costs, a Reuters article today brings up the point that current reform measures being considered could affect company-sponsored wellness plans as well.

The article notes about two-thirds of large U.S. businesses have some kind of wellness or prevention program to “lower the health insurance costs, combat absenteeism and boost productivity.”

In the current health care bills being drafted in Washington, insurers would have to cover some preventive services. ”It could affect what employers are willing to do,” said John Cawley, a Cornell University professor and expert in health economics said in the article.

Tags: prevention, public plan, wellness program