To our detriment, America’s health system has been reactive – struggling to treat individuals after they’ve been diagnosed or are already living with a chronic condition, instead of promoting preventive actions and services. Our nation spends the most on health care, but gets the least in return. It is clear that a defensive health care model does not work.
While the Supreme Court recently heard arguments about the Affordable Care Act, one thing is certain: regardless of how the details of our nation’s health system shape up between now and 2014, we need to be more on the offense. In fact, by simply increasing the use of preventative services such as tobacco cessation screening, alcohol abuse screening and aspirin use, we could save $3.7 billion annually in health costs.
Read more from APHA’s Georges Benjamin in a recent opinion piece featured in Health Relay, the Colorado Health Foundation’s blog.
