Prevention Programs Should Target the Highest Risk Groups for Greatest Cost Effectiveness

OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire Strategic Health Care News In the 40 years that researchers have studied wellness or disease prevention programs, most have found that the programs add more to medical costs than they save in treatment costs. A recent article suggests that payers offering wellness or disease prevention programs should make careful choices about frequency, groups to target, and component costs to increase the likelihood that interventions will be highly cost-effective or even cost-saving. For example, medications for high blood pressure or high cholesterol; diet and exercise programs to prevent diabetes; and screening and early treatment . . .