TFAH Applauds 'Affordable Health Choices Act' for Making Prevention a Cornerstone of Hea...( Research shows that strategic inv...),Health

Research shows that strategic investments in disease prevention can result in significant savings in a short time -- reducing health care costs, increasing the productivity of the nation's workforce, and helping people lead healthier lives. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a vast majority of chronic diseases could be prevented through lifestyle and environmental changes. And a recent study by TFAH, entitled "Prevention for a Healthier America," found that investing $10 per person per year in proven community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking and other tobacco use, could save the country more than $16 billion annually within five years.

Some key public health and prevention components of the Affordable Health Choices Act include:

ENSURING STRATEGIC, EFFECTIVE, ACCOUNTABLE DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION

• Development of a National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy which would set specific goals and objectives for improving the health of the nation through federally-supported prevention, health promotion, and public health programs, and establish measurable actions and timelines for meeting prevention and health promotion goals;
• Establishment of a National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council to provide coordination and leadership with respect to prevention, wellness and health promotion practices, the public health system, and integrative health care in the United States;
• Establishment of an independent Community Prevention Services Task Force to review the scientific evidence related to the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness of community preventive interventions to be published in the Guide to Community Preventive Services;
• Establishment of an inde
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