Prevention is the best cure for health reform

There is lots of dialogue about the challenges that lie ahead for President-elect Barack Obama as he tackles one of his top priorities — reforming our health-care system. There is no doubt that reform is needed to ensure affordable access to quality health care for all Americans, and the urgency will only increase if the ranks of unemployed and uninsured people continue to swell.

But we must also derive more value from the approximately $2.1 trillion (about $6,700 per person) that we already spend for better health each year, and commit to moving America from the bottom to the top of the ranks of the world’s healthiest developed nations.

It will take more than reform of our health-care delivery system to achieve this, because health doesn’t only happen in the doctor’s office or the hospital bed. Health is created in our homes, our schools, our work sites and in communities across America. And even if we could provide universal access to quality health-care services, at best we would address no more than 25 percent of the gap between our current health status and that of the world’s healthiest nations.

Now is the time to broaden our conversation about reform to include the entire health system. Public health agencies, businesses, community groups, teachers and, above all, parents have a strong stake in our success.

We have to promote changes and policies that build health opportunities into everyday life — walkable streets, nutritious school lunches, health education and fitness programs for all students, smoking cessation programs and easy access to parks and gyms. Transportation, housing, agriculture, environment and education legislation abounds with opportunities to leverage better health — at an investment price that brings far better value than dollars spent treating chronic diseases once they occur.

Right now, 75 percent of our current health expenditures target treatment for preventable conditions caused by tobacco use, poor diet and inactivity, alcohol and drug use, motor vehicle crashes, firearms and other risks. Investing some of these dollars in health system reform is not only a good deal for taxpayers and employers, but also will assure that our children will not be the first generation to have a shorter expected lifespan than we do.

As the nation’s health protection agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) knows full well that “a dime of prevention is worth a dollar of cure.” We are in full support of a rapidly expanding movement that includes state and local health agencies, cities, states, businesses and private citizens committed to helping America become a “healthiest nation.”

We invite policy makers and people everywhere to join this national alliance. Together, we can achieve health reform that will assure that even the most vulnerable people in our society can enjoy all the hope and opportunity good health provides.

• Dr. Julie L. Gerberding is Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.