Congressional Budget Office analysts have overlooked the value of modern, well-targeted wellness and condition management programs, a prevention firm argues.
The CBO last week published a letter suggesting only about 20% of wellness and condition management programs produce clear health cost savings.
U.S. Preventive Medicine Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has fired back with a rebuttal contending that the CBO analysts gave Congress an incomplete analysis of the costs and benefits of preventive care programs.
One type of prevention program involves use of diagnostic tests to find people with conditions that are at the earliest, most treatable stages, U.S. Preventive Medicine notes.
But prevention programs also can include identifying risks and recommending behavior changes, such as healthy eating, exercise and immunizations, the firm says.
Prevention programs also can focus on slowing or reversing the progression of diseases that have been identified, the firm says.