WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King — with a number of his bipartisan colleagues — has introduced bipartisan legislation to better measure the cost savings that come with improved investments in preventive health care for Maine people. The Preventive Health Savings Act would instruct the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to fully study the costs and benefits that could be seen with proposed preventive health care legislation. CBO analyses are essential benchmarks that members of Congress use to determine the cost of legislation to the American taxpayer. By taking a longer-term view into consideration past the current 10-year window and incorporating prevention interventions into CBO scoring, Congress could make more informed decisions and better measure the return on investment of Americans getting ahead of health problems before they get more serious and costly.

“I often say, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ Preventive care is one of the most effective ways to keep Maine people healthy and save money for patients and taxpayers alike, and as we work to expand this care, we must first learn how we can best measure it,” said Senator King. “The bipartisan Preventive Health Savings Act will allow Congress a more complete view of how preventative healthcare legislation can help patients stay healthy and cut costs. The cheapest surgery or treatment is the one that we avoid by getting ahead of the issue, and this bill is a simple step to reduce health care expenses, save taxpayer dollars and support Americans’ long-term health.”

“It is important we have a clear, long-term picture of the return on investment from preventive health care measures,” said Senator Crapo. “Removing current CBO limitations benefits any future health care reform and helps pave the way for additional preventive measures that save lives and reduce costs.”

“Preventive care and early detection can help patients live longer and healthier lives while also saving on long-term costs for everything from treatments to hospital visits,” said Senator Van Hollen. “By accounting for preventive care, we can make smarter health care policy decisions that work better for patients and taxpayers alike.”

“Preventive health care measures allow Americans to live longer, healthier lives and substantially lower the costs passed along to the taxpayer,” said Senator Cramer. “Our bill updates existing CBO rules to better allow Congress to account for long-term savings generated by investments in preventive care.”

“This bipartisan legislation brings together budget policy and health policy to reflect the benefits of tackling chronic disease,” said American Medical Association President Bobby Mukkamala, M.D. “Not only will our patients live longer and healthier because of federally funded health initiatives, but taxpayers will benefit from savings resulting from treating chronic diseases. Allowing CBO to assess long-term savings from prevention legislation is a prescription for bending the health care cost curve.”

Chronic diseases are a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, and treating affected patients accounts for over 90 percent of America’s $3.3 trillion annual medical expenditures. Many of these diseases — including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity — are easily detected and largely avoidable through screenings, routine testing, and early interventions.

Under current law, however, the CBO does not take into account the long-term cost-savings associated with preventive health initiatives. The Preventive Health Savings Act would direct the CBO to more accurately reflect the cost-savings of preventive health care legislation by allowing Congressional Committees to request additional analyses of the budgetary impact of preventive healthcare legislation. By allowing the CBO to widen its budget window to better capture the costs-savings from preventive care, the legislation encourages a sensible review of health policy in order to promote public health and incentivizes Congress to invest in proven methods of saving lives and money.

Senator King, known as the ‘Prevention Senator,’ has long worked on policy solutions that keep Maine people healthy and lower the costs for patients and providers alike. He has previously introduced legislation require private insurance plans to cover three annual primary care visits and three annual outpatient mental health or outpatient substance use disorder treatment visits, without charging a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible-related fee. In doing so, this legislation also would catch smaller, or early health symptoms before they become larger threats requiring more extensive and expensive treatments. Previously, he introduced the ‘Stand Strong’ package, which included the Stand Strong Falls Prevention Act that would require the development of a National Falls Prevention Plan, the Preventive Home Visits Act, which would provide Medicare coverage for qualified care providers to assess the safety of seniors’ homes, and the Wellness and Education for Longer Lives (WELL) for Seniors Act, which would improve Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit to encourage seniors and their physicians to work together and confront health issues before they become more serious. This fall, he introduced a Senate Resolution affirming support for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which is charged with making recommendations about preventive services to inform medical practices across the United States.

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