Americans get the right treatment only 55% of the time. ... less than 5% spent on prevention

U.S. Presidential Candidates' Prescriptions for a Healthier Future: A Side-By-Side Comparison | Posted July 9, 2007 | 03:18 PM (EST) | By Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., Jessica B. Rubin, Michelle E. Treseler, Jefferson Lin, and David Mattos*

The next president of the United States will confront major health policy decisions that will affect the lives of all Americans. With the first of the presidential caucuses and primaries only six months away, the pressure is on for the candidates to provide Americans with their plans to improve the nation's health care system -- and rightfully so. Despite spending over $2 trillion a year on health care -- 18% of the U.S. GDP and twice as much as any other nation -- the United States ranks only 45th in life expectancy and 37th in a World Health Organization study on the performance of national health systems. 1,2 The U.S. federal government currently spends more on health care than on Social Security and national defense combined, the next most expensive items, but Americans get the right treatment only 55% of the time.3 Expenditures on health care in the United States -- already the highest per person in the world -- are predicted to nearly double by 2016, to $4.1 trillion, or 20% of GDP. That means, if this trajectory is not altered, in less than a decade, 20 cents out of every dollar produced in America will be spent on health care. Currently, more than 75% of health care dollars are spent on patients with chronic diseases, yet an estimated 80% of all chronic diseases are caused by preventable factors, such as smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.4,5 But despite these statistics, less than 5 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.

A recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found health care to be the second most mentioned issue that Americans would like to hear presidential candidates discuss and for the government to address.6 Iraq remains the foremost concern, yet it is important to note that health care tops the list of Americans' domestic priorities. This means that no presidential hopeful can effectively meet the needs of the American people without addressing the essential issues of access, affordability, efficiency, and quality of our nation's health care system. ...