Over 50 Healthcare, Patient, Employer Groups Urge Changes in Way Congressional Budget Officials Assess Wellness Legislation
In letter to Capitol Hill, Groups Say Long-Term Benefits of Preventive Medicine Not Adequately Viewed through CBO 10-Year Scoring Window
WASHINGTON – A letter to Capitol Hill, signed by over 50 organizations representing multiple health sectors, patients and employers, says that the way in which the Congressional Budget Office “scores” legislation to project spending and benefits over a 10-year time period “severely constrains the ability of policymakers to accurately assess legislation that would prevent chronic disease.” The letter, which endorses legislation to expand the budget scoring window timeframe, was released today by the Healthcare Leadership Council, one of the letter’s organizers.
The letter is addressed to Representatives Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Donna Christensen (D-VI) and Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Michael Crapo (R-ID) and Angus King (I-ME). All are cosponsors of the Preventive Health Savings Act, legislation that would enable the chairman or ranking minority member of any budget or health-related congressional committee to request an analysis of preventive health initiative for two 10-year periods beyond the conventional 10-year scoring window. Bills eligible for the expanded scoring analysis would include those involving preventive health and, through credible epidemiological projection models, are designed to avoid future healthcare costs.
In the letter, the organizations note that “research has demonstrated that certain expenditures for preventive medicine generate savings when considered in the long term, but those cost savings may not be apparent when assessing only the first ten years – those in the ‘scoring’ window.”
The letter points out that a modernized approach to budget scoring is essential in considering measures having to do with wellness and disease prevention because, by 2030, more than 170 million Americans are expected to have at least one chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease or asthma.
“As the chronic disease epidemic continues to worsen, so does the need for legislation that will properly allow Congress to see the full savings of enacting prevention-focused measures,” the organizations wrote.
