Petition

Sign On Letter: Support for the Preventive Health Savings Act

In partnership with the Healthcare Leadership Council, PFCD is recruiting organizations in support of the Preventive Health Savings Act to sign onto the letter below. The Act highlights the importance of preventive health interventions by enabling federal policymakers to have the Congressional Budget Office provide longer term estimates on the benefits of investments in preventive health efforts.
 
We welcome you to review the letter and sign on using the form below. 
 
Thank you for your consideration and ongoing support of the #Fight4Health. 
 
***
The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse
Chairman

Senate Committee on the Budget
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Chuck Grassley
Ranking Member
Senate Committee the Budget
Washington, D.C. 20510

 
Dear Chairman Whitehouse and Ranking Member Grassley:
 
We, the 63 undersigned organizations, would like to express our support for H.R. 766, the “Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act” which removes outdated statutory constraints which currently prevent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates from correctly assessing preventive health initiatives that might achieve long-term health savings in federal programs. The bill passed the House unanimously on March 19. We respectfully urge the Senate to move expeditiously to pass H.R. 766, ideally by hot lining the bill as approved by the House.
 
As leaders in health care representing patients, providers, associations, and employers, we all agree on the need for a continued focus on wellness and disease prevention if healthcare costs are to be contained. We share a bipartisan, bicameral view with many in Congress that to move forward with policy solutions to address the growing burden of long-term chronic disease, Congress needs new tools to rise above traditional legislative approaches to health care.
 
Simply put, we know we can’t “cut” our way to a healthier America by shaving dollars from federal programs that provide care to people in need every time Congress finds a new approach. As such, we all agree that the statutory constraints that CBO must currently follow to “score” legislation severely constrains the ability of policymakers to accurately assess legislation that would prevent chronic disease. We believe this legislation represents a significant step toward the goal of including new ideas and tactics to improve care that have proven successful in the private sector, or in health systems abroad that don’t have the same regulatory or budgetary constraints.
 
Chronic disease places a significant burden on our health and economy, but it can be reversed.

  • We know that chronic diseases are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths among Americans each year, and they account for 90 percent of the $4.1 trillion our nation spends annually on medical care.[1] These figures will worsen as the population ages.
  • Much of the illness, suffering, and early death related to chronic diseases is caused by modifiable health risk behaviors such as lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and alcohol and substance misuse.
  • Preventing or delaying the onset of new cases and mitigating the progression of chronic disease will improve the health of people in America while lowering healthcare costs and overall spending.

 
The current scoring process does not give Congress a complete picture of efforts to combat chronic disease.

  • Research has demonstrated that certain expenditures for preventive health interventions generate savings when considered in the long term, but those cost savings may not be apparent when assessing only the first ten years—those in the “scoring” window.
  • Long-term benefits from current preventive health expenditures may not be fully reflected, if at all, in cost estimates from CBO.
  • Lawmakers need sound information, and today’s methods and procedures may not work as well as needed in analyzing certain efforts to prevent costly complications of chronic diseases.

 
CBO has already begun to examine prevention in new ways.

  • In 2012, CBO published long-term estimates of the effect of a hypothetical tobacco tax on the federal budget. [2]
  • Also, in 2012, CBO published a study which found greater prescription drug access and adherence can reduce healthcare costs in other areas.[3]
  • In the 118th Congress, the House of Representatives continues to require CBO to score certain large bills by considering projected impacts on revenue and spending from assumed economic effects the bills.[4]

 
The Preventive Health Savings Act will permit leaders in Congress to request that CBO estimate the long-term health savings that are possible from preventive and innovative health initiatives, while safeguarding against its use to promote partisan policies of “budget gimmicks.”

  • This legislation provides that the Chairman and Ranking member of both budget and committee of primary jurisdiction can request an analysis of the two 10-year periods beyond the existing 10-year window.
  • The bill requires CBO to conduct an initial analysis to determine whether the provision would result in substantial savings outside the normal scoring window.
    • CBO must include a description of those future-year savings in its budget projections but would retain the option of creating a formal projection that includes some or all the budgetary out years. The bill stipulates that estimates are supplementary and cannot be used to determine compliance with the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 or any other budgetary enforcement controls.
    • This bill is necessary to bring greater attention to the longer-term value of wellness and prevention policies specifically.
  • The bill defines preventive health as an action that focuses on the health of the public, individuals, and defined populations in order to protect, promote, and maintain health and wellness and prevent disease, disability, and premature death, including through the promotion and use of effective, innovative health care interventions that are demonstrated by credible and publicly available evidence from epidemiological projection models, clinical trials, observational studies in humans, longitudinal studies, and meta-analysis..
  • This narrow, responsible approach discourages abuse while encouraging a sensible review of health policies and programs Congress believes will further the public’s health.

 
As the chronic disease epidemic continues to worsen, so does the need for legislation that will properly allow Congress to see the full savings of enacting prevention-focused policy measures. We look forward to joining with you in transforming our nation to one that prioritizes efforts to achieve wellness and well-being for all.
 
Sincerely, 
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Alliance for Aging Research
Alliance for Patient Access
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Association of Clinical Endocrinology
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
American College of Gastroenterology 
American College of Lifestyle Medicine 
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Medical Association
American Society for Nutrition 
Ascension
Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists
Avery's Hope
Biocom California
Blooming Health, Inc.
California Chronic Care Coalition
Caregiver Action Network
Chronic Care Policy Alliance
Connected Health Initiative
COPD Foundation
Council For Affordable Health Coverage
Currax Pharmaceuticals 
Determined Health 
Diabetes Leadership Council
Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition
Direct Primary Care Coalition 
Fight Colorectal Cancer
FundPlay Foundation
Geneoscopy
Gerontological Society of America
Global Liver Institute
Healthcare Leadership Council 
HealthyWomen
HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute
Johnson & Johnson
Marshfield Clinic Health System
MemorialCare Health System
Merck
National Consumers League
National Minority Quality Forum
Nevada Chronic Care Collaborative
NourishedRx
NTM Info & Research
Obesity Action Coalition
Obesity Care Advocacy Network
Obesity Medicine Association
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease 
PLAY Sports Coalition
Population Health Alliance 
Premier Inc. 
PROANO ASSOCIATES, INC
Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness
Sports & Fitness Industry Association
Team Titin
Texas Health Resources
The Obesity Society
Tivity Health
UsAgainstAlzheimer’s
Vizient, Inc.
WeightWatchers 
Wellvana
YMCA of the USA
 

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm

[2] https://www.cbo.gov/publication/43319

[3] https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43741-Medic...

[4] https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/5/text