| Stay Well, Save Billions by 2020 |
| Friday, 11 June 2010 15:31 | |||
 Nashville, Tennessee, June 2010 — A new report just out states that a 25 percent improvement in the health risk profile of Americans would yield savings of up to $945 billion over the next ten years. The report was released by the Center for Health Research (CHR) at Healthways.
The principal finding of the report – nearly a trillion dollars of potential cost savings – is based on the application of various risk-reduction scenarios to a rigorous actuarial model of the natural progression of illness and associated cost. Developed by Ingenix Consulting, it’s based on the actual five-year (2003-2007) health care experience of over 4.2 million commercially insured individuals, from birth through age 64. The report shows that health care costs for individuals born in 2008 will average $243,000 (in 2008 dollars) per individual by age 65. Preventing an increased level of health risk in only 10 percent of individuals, beginning at age 25, would generate average health care cost savings of $180 for each individual for each year through age 64 across the entire study population. Savings were estimated to reach $470 per individual annually if 25 percent of individuals do not increase in risk from age 25 representing a savings of approximately $945 billion over ten years if applied to the current number of commercially insured population in the US. Savings are even more substantial, reaching over $1 trillion in 10-year savings, if the 25 percent risk reduction scenario is implemented across all ages studied. The findings of this report provide support for wellness and prevention initiatives and emphasize the importance of such programs that some employers are already providing as a means to achieve meaningful cost reductions by improving employee health. “America is spending 75 percent of its health care dollars on care for those with chronic diseases,” said Gary A. Puckrein, PhD, president and CEO of the National Minority Quality Forum. “The availability and utilization of quality health care is essential to improve health status and reduce preventable health care expenditures. To maximize potential savings, however, the American health care delivery and financing system must also place a high priority on increasing the availability and utilization of primary and secondary prevention programs. The research conducted by the Healthways Center for Health Research provides quantifiable evidence of the value of prevention.” “This report, and the previously released CHR companion report on potential savings for the Medicare population, provides a framework for measuring what’s possible; the task for our entire industry is to continue to demonstrate that we can turn that possibility into a proven, replicable and scalable reality,” concluded Leedle. Healthways is a leading provider of specialized, comprehensive solutions to help millions of people maintain or improve their health and well-being and, as a result, reduce overall costs. Healthways' solutions are designed to keep healthy people healthy, mitigate or eliminate lifestyle risk factors that can lead to disease and optimize care for those with chronic illness. For more information, please visit www.healthways.com. SOURCE: Healthways
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