Preventive health services can save lives at little or no cost

Preventive health services such as daily aspirin use, tobacco cessation screening and alcohol abuse screening can potentially save 2 million lives and nearly $4 billion annually, according to a new paper produced by the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP). The NCPP is convened by the Partnership for Prevention. Four of the five lead authors perform research with HealthPartners Research Foundation.

The paper, "Greater Use Of Preventive Services In U.S. Health Care Could Save Lives At Little Or No Cost," is published in the September issue of Health Affairs. Its authors analyzed the estimated cost of adopting a package of 20 proven preventive services against the savings that could be generated. They also estimated how much in health care costs would have been saved in a given year if 90 percent of the population had used those services. For 2006, the year selected, the savings were estimated at $3.7 billion.

"By quantifying the many lives saved and high cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services, our study shows that prevention has really gone the extra mile, meeting a standard rarely met by health treatments. The new health care law appropriately makes these services available for most Americans at lower or no cost, but cost reductions alone won't get us there. We now need health purchasers, insurers, and providers to make every effort to improve their delivery and educate the public about these life-saving preventive services," said Robert J. Gould, Ph.D., President and CEO, Partnership for Prevention.

Most of the savings came from three services: tobacco cessation screening and assistance; discussing daily aspirin use; and alcohol screening with brief counseling. The authors determined that those three services plus colorectal cancer screening each would have contributed more than 100,000 years of life if 90 percent of the population had participated.

"People talk about the importance of prevention, and this study shows that a significant number of recommended clinical preventive services save lives and sometimes save money," said Eduardo Sanchez, chair of the National Commission on Prevention Priorities. "The findings are based on a systematic analysis, and they show that different services have different value. Decision makers should use the information to help them identify and even prioritize the most health impactful and cost-effective services for improving health and reducing disparities."