mikekohr
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Fri Sep-04-09 06:48 PM
Original message |
CBO Chief Writes Preventative Care Will Increase Costs Due To Longer Longevity |
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clip: Elmendorf also noted that some types of preventive care will increase longevity, which would
increase federal spending in the long run as more people live longer and thus both Social
Security and Medicare outlays will increase.
full letter below:
CBO Letter, Aug. 7, 2009, Expanding preventive services not cost neutral: CBO
While expanding preventive services, as proposed under health care reform legislation, would
improve people's health, the Congressional Budget Office said that evidence suggests that for
most preventive services, expanded utilization will lead to higher, not lower, national medical
spending.
In a letter to Rep. Nathan Deal, (R- ), ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Health, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf noted that “even when
the unit cost of a particular preventive service is low, costs can accumulate quickly when a large
number of patients are treated preventively.” In addition, private insurers may be discouraged
from offering preventive services whose positive results are only seen in the future, since the
insurer offering the preventive benefit will bear the cost of providing the service but will not
likely be the beneficiary of any savings in the future that can be attributed to that preventive
service. Elmendorf cited a 2008 article published in the New England Journal of Medicine which
summarized the findings of hundreds of studies on preventive care. The article concluded that
only 20 percent of the services examined saved money.
Elmendorf also noted that some types of preventive care will increase longevity, which would
increase federal spending in the long run as more people live longer and thus both Social
Security and Medicare outlays will increase. Elmendorf also noted that evidence on the cost of expanding wellness services such as
encouraging healthy eating habits or exercise is limited. He highlighted one study that concluded
that if U.S. obesity rates were cut in half, total Medicare spending by the elderly Medicare
population would decline by 10 percent by 2030.
:wtf: Isn't this the goal?
mike kohr
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NC_Nurse
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Fri Sep-04-09 06:55 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Well, we CAN"T have that, can we? |
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:crazy:
That's why it's called "healthcare", isn't it? To protect your health.....sigh.
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indepat
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Fri Sep-04-09 07:04 PM
Response to Reply #1 |
3. If the sons-of-bitches don't die off quickly enough, then some euphemistic term for state-sponsored |
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euthanasia, what ever it takes to thin out the non-productive, weak, sick, and/or frail? :wtf:
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DrToast
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Fri Sep-04-09 07:55 PM
Response to Reply #1 |
5. He's not saying that. He's just saying it's not cost neutral |
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That's his job. To let Congress know what will reduce spending and what will increase spending.
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mikekohr
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Fri Sep-04-09 08:30 PM
Response to Reply #5 |
6. Granted. But would you agree it sounds just a little tone deaf? |
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Keep Hope Alive, -but not to long-.
mike kohr
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DrToast
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Fri Sep-04-09 09:34 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
10. Of course. But he's not supposed to say whether or not it's good policy |
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Just how much it will cost.
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CTyankee
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Sat Sep-05-09 12:37 PM
Response to Reply #10 |
27. I remember when a similar argument was made about anti-smoking ads. |
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Smokers were liable to die early of lung cancer but if smoking were prevented those people would live longer and cost the government more in Social Security benefits and Medicare.
It's interesting that this issue should be raised in view of the "death panels" debate...
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NC_Nurse
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Fri Sep-04-09 08:50 PM
Response to Reply #5 |
7. Yeah, but nobody seems to care when we spend trillions on wars and tax cuts. |
malletgirl02
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Sat Sep-05-09 12:15 PM
Response to Reply #7 |
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I don't remember seeing and CBO reports on how much either Iraq, Afghanistan, or the tax cuts cost. Unlike some posters on this thread, I don't think the report is completely neutral. There is an element of politics in everything.
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Telly Savalas
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Sun Sep-06-09 08:36 AM
Response to Reply #25 |
31. That's one of the many flaws in the decision making process behind the policies you list. |
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"How much is it going to cost?" and "How are we going to pay for it?" are two questions which should be given thorough consideration before implementing a policy.
Rather than using these past failures as an excuse to continue shoddy practices, we need to do things the right way but then point out the hypocrisy of the GOP when they ask the two questions listed above within the context of health care reform.
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sakabatou
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Fri Sep-04-09 06:55 PM
Response to Original message |
2. My WTF meter is off the chart |
babylonsister
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Fri Sep-04-09 07:53 PM
Response to Original message |
mikekohr
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Fri Sep-04-09 09:07 PM
Response to Reply #4 |
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Edited on Fri Sep-04-09 09:22 PM by mikekohr
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10492/08-07-Prevention.pdfThe section the news article refers to is at the bottom of page 3/top of page 4 of the directors letter. mike kohr
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Cali_Democrat
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Fri Sep-04-09 08:59 PM
Response to Original message |
8. You mean people might actually live longer? |
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Edited on Fri Sep-04-09 09:44 PM by Cali_Democrat
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mikekohr
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Sun Sep-06-09 08:14 AM
Response to Reply #8 |
30. Yes. Tragic isn't it? |
eridani
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Sat Sep-05-09 04:44 AM
Response to Original message |
11. 100% true. Prevention saves live, but costs money. Duh. n/t |
dkf
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:50 AM
Response to Reply #11 |
23. All the extra testing costs more than the savings from early detection and treatment. |
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It makes sense. But Dems have been selling the savings from preventive care for ages. We need to stop making this argument and tell people its simply an act of taking care of others...basically charity. For a supposedly Christian nation, politicians never talk about charity. I guess that spirit ended with Bobby Kennedy.
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boppers
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Sat Sep-05-09 04:53 AM
Response to Original message |
12. So... subsidize smoking? |
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Raise retirement age laws, so people can't "check out" of contributing at age 65?
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avaistheone1
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:30 AM
Response to Reply #12 |
17. Raise the income cap on Social Security. |
theothersnippywshrub
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Sat Sep-05-09 07:38 AM
Response to Original message |
13. Did CBO address the offsets from Palin's Death Panels killing republicans? n/t |
Phx_Dem
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:12 AM
Response to Original message |
14. I guess we'll have to make ourselves sick so we can die |
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and save the government money.
Is the CBO even taking into consideration the reduction in costs due to competition, which years down the road, should be substantial? Or do they just want us all to die to save money?
Lame.
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Proud Liberal Dem
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:25 AM
Response to Original message |
15. Won't providing more preventative care also DECREASE costs? |
avaistheone1
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:28 AM
Response to Original message |
16. IS THIS THE CBO's ANALYSIS OF SINGLE PAYER, OR IS THIS A SNIPPET OF SOME OTHER ANALYSIS? |
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Edited on Sat Sep-05-09 11:34 AM by avaistheone1
Sorry for the caps, but I am really getting pissed.
I would like to know who requested this analysis and for what purpose. I think we need some context here.
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mikekohr
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Sat Sep-05-09 03:01 PM
Response to Reply #16 |
28. See post number 9 for the link to the letter the director sent nt |
donco6
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:31 AM
Response to Original message |
18. Isn't that kinda the point of health care? |
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I truly am in bizzaro world . . .
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dkf
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:45 AM
Response to Reply #18 |
22. The point is expanding health care coverage simply increases expenses, not decreases them. |
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And we shouldn't be selling it like it does unless we overhaul a whole lot more than insurance. I really think the only cost savings will come from reducing compensation to providers. If we were looking at single payer, we could cut out anyone in the medical insurance industry and a bunch of clerk types at the doctor's offices and hospitals. Of course in this and future job markets I don't know how we're supposed to replace those jobs.
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donco6
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Sat Sep-05-09 12:11 PM
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That's why Insurance Reform has not made sense from the beginning. |
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And why many of us have been pounding the table about Single Payer.
There'd have to be new jobs created in the government to manage the payment of claims.
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dkf
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Sat Sep-05-09 12:28 PM
Response to Original message |
26. I've been reading about some of the crazy bills submitted to the insurance |
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companies though. Some of them are completely outlandish. I don't understand all the pricing and all the data, so I don't know how we are supposed to come up with any judgment on what is required to make things more reasonable. I really wish Obama would break down a hospital bill and tell us what ideas there are to reduce it. I really do think tort reform is necessary. No more punitive damages, for gross negligence there should be criminal penalties instead. If errors cause bad outcomes, there should be payments for care.
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dkf
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:37 AM
Response to Original message |
19. The shocker isn't the extra spending due to longevity, its that preventive care doesn't cut costs. |
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Thus there is no cost savings in expanding health care, just more expenses to treat the extra people.
Don't be deluded that health care costs are going down. If we want to make things affordable for people who can't afford it, those who can will have to foot the bill. And this won't cut off at people making over $250,000, as taxing them for their entire incomes will only balance the budget, not pay down the deficit nor pay for expanded health care.
If you support universal health care, you WILL be paying more in taxes. To think otherwise is fooling yourself.
And you should WANT to pay more because we are Democrats and we believe in helping out those who can't help themselves.
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WeDidIt
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:39 AM
Response to Original message |
20. Time for a mass suicide |
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because obviously the US cannot afford for its citizenry to live.
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joeycola
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Sat Sep-05-09 11:44 AM
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21. Do you have a link please. |
mikekohr
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Sat Sep-05-09 03:04 PM
Response to Reply #21 |
29. See post number 9 for link to the Director's letter |
joeycola
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Sat Sep-05-09 12:11 PM
Response to Original message |
24. In the early 19th c., business stated paying public health nurses |
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5cents a visit to workers homes to give advice on how to stay health. The Metropolitan Life insurance company paid the money. things sure have changed.
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