OXFORD, Miss. – An April 2008 poll of American adults found that the
top four health care issues of national concern relate to cost, but how
do you bring cost down?
A panel of national health care
experts, convening in a public discussion Monday evening at the
University of Mississippi, agreed that most roads to reducing health
care costs and improving effectiveness begin with prevention.
“One reason cost is at the top of the list is because health care costs
increase each year,” said Therese Hanna, executive director of the
Center for Mississippi Health Policy. “It’s become a burden to
families, employers, government and therefore taxpayers.”
Hanna was one of four panelists participating in the discussion
“National Health Care Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention.” The
event was sponsored by the UM School of Applied Sciences and the
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, American Dietetic Association,
American College of Sports Medicine and Center for Mississippi Health
Policy.
Part of the reason for high health care costs boils down to the
fact that 83 percent of national health care money goes to treat
chronic disease, Hanna explained. Though some politicians think
preventing health risks is a personal choice and not a matter of public
policy, Hanna and the other panelists presented research that suggests
health care costs will decrease and health care effectiveness will
increase if communities invest in locally based disease intervention
programs.
Panelist Steven Blair pointed to research showing that physical
activity and fitness can greatly reduce a wide range of conditions,
including depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and dementia.
Blair is a professor in the departments of Exercise Science and
Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Arnold School of Public Health at
the University of South Carolina.
“We’ve got to use exercise and other lifestyle measures to
prevent chronic health problems,” he said. “Low fitness is responsible
for more deaths than any other factor in mortality studies.”
Panelist Evelyn Crayton, a member of the board of directors of
the American Dietetic Association, said the association is strongly
urging this year’s presidential candidates to make health care a
priority.
“As a registered dietitian, I can tell you many of the most costly
disabling conditions can be prevented through nutrition strategies,”
she said. “With proper nutrition support, many complications can be
averted or delayed. Federal attention to public nutrition and
investment in nutrition care, education and research is essential.”
Crayton is a professor of nutrition and food services at Auburn
University and assistant director of Family Programs for the Alabama
Cooperative Extension System. She agreed with John Clymer, president of
the Partnership for Prevention, that the American health care system is
directing most of its funding to the wrong areas.
Pointing out that politicians often say the U.S. has the best
health care system in the world, Clymer said, “I think we have one of
the best rescue systems in the world.”
He explained that people from all over the world come here to be
treated for a wide variety of diseases and conditions. However, there
is very little funding or emphasis given to the role of prevention in
lowering the instances of chronic diseases, because doctors are
generally only compensated for treating actual diseases.
In fact, some statistics show that 95 cents of every dollar
spent in the American health care system goes to treat disease after it
has occurred, which means less than a nickel is going into prevention
of those diseases, he said.
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, along with its
affiliate the Partnership for Prevention, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
policy organization. The organizations are urging the creation of
incentives in the system to encourage use and delivery of high-quality
prevention programs. They also would like to see communities involved
in health systems, beginning with a commitment to designing communities
that provide opportunities for walking, biking and other physical
activity. The partnerships also encourage employers to invest in the
health of employees, a reform that has proven to increase productivity
and lower health care costs.
“We need to make it easy for Americans to make the healthy
choice,” he said. “We need to make the healthy choice the easy choice.”
The panel was organized to draw attention to the issue of health
care, which is a major campaign point for both presidential candidates,
said Linda Chitwood, applied sciences dean. The event is among dozens
of programs planned around the first 2008 presidential debate, which is
scheduled Sept. 26 at UM’s Ford Center.
“The event was titled ‘Moving from Treatment to Prevention,’ and
that is what the School of Applied Sciences is all about,” Chitwood
said. “We specialize in the rehabilitation part as well, but what we
really want to focus on is ways to prevent health problems before they
even occur.”
To learn more about the School of Applied Sciences, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/