Fla. legislators should lead fight against chronic disease
President Obama just held a daylong conference at the White House to kick start his healthcare reform efforts. Conference attendees included senior administration officials, prominent policy experts, and industry leaders. The President is hopeful that Congress will enact a comprehensive reform package by the end of this year.
Virtually everyone agrees that the biggest problem with our current healthcare system is costs. So that’s what lawmakers should focus on. In Florida, our own state legislature can make great strides in reducing soaring healthcare expenses by addressing the main force behind them: chronic diseases.
According to the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan economic think tank, Florida has 10 million reported cases of some key chronic conditions, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, every year. Nationally, treating chronic illnesses consumes 75 percent of the $2.2 trillion spent annually on healthcare. Over 133 million Americans have one or more chronic conditions.
The economic cost of chronic illnesses extends far beyond hospital bills. For the seven most prominent chronic diseases, it’s estimated that the associated lost productivity costs $1.1 trillion annually.
Chronic disease will only become more prevalent as the nation becomes older and more sedentary.
Most chronic diseases are associated with a small number of known risk factors. Just a few simple steps can help prevent some of these conditions. For instance, keeping a balanced and healthy diet can decrease the risk of osteoporosis, artery disease, and diabetes.
The Milken Institute also estimates that implementing a comprehensive chronic disease program now could prevent over 4 million cases of chronic illness in Florida by 2023. Nationally, a similar program over that same time period could prevent over 40 million cases.
Policymakers need to improve our system of detecting and preventing chronic illness. At the moment, our healthcare dollars are used to only cover acute outbreaks of illness at the expense of paying for preventative services like routine screening tests, consultations and drugs.
The cost-savings from chronic disease prevention are substantial. In the case of diabetes, a recent study in the journal Medical Care found that every dollar spent on medication for the disease saved seven dollars in other medical services and costs. Prescribing cholesterol medication yields a similarly sized benefit.
Making sure that all patients have access to such treatment needs to be part of any plan to reduce chronic illness.
State lawmakers also need to expand access to health insurance. Currently, there are 3.8 million uninsured Floridians.
Many of these folks are eligible for public healthcare programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SCHIP. State lawmakers should devise a way to better locate and enroll these people.
Also, many Floridians are already eligible for coverage through their employer — they just haven’t enrolled. Letting businesses use an “opt-out” system in which employees are automatically enrolled in the company insurance plan would further boost coverage rates. -Moreover, businesses should be granted tax breaks for running chronic disease education programs, and offering comprehensive screenings for preventable diseases.
Florida could drastically cut down on its healthcare expenses by implementing these simple measures for fighting chronic illness. Improving how we detect and treat chronic illness would save money and lives.
Dr. Rubin is an assistant professor of Clinical Neurology University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and serves as Florida Chairman of the Alliance for Patient Access.