[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 101 (Thursday, July 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 IT IS EASIER TO PREVENT DISEASE THAN CURE IT--PREVENTION IS BASIC TO 
                             HEALTH REFORM

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as we turn our full attention to health 
care reform, it is important for all of us to remember that it is 
easier to prevent disease than to cure it. Universal coverage is 
essential to prevention. Without it, preventive services will not reach 
many of those most in need.
  This idea is so simple and so obvious that it often gets lost in the 
complex debate on health reform. Prevention is good health policy and 
good economic policy. It is the stitch in time that saves millions and 
billions--millions of lives and billions of dollars. Preventive 
techniques can stop epidemics before they start, or stop them after 
they begin. Imagine the difference it will make to the Nation if we 
develop more effective ways to prevent cancer and heart disease, or 
prevent an epidemic that would kill millions, or prevent low 
birthweight babies.
  We have the potential today, through our community-based, public 
health care system, to accomplish much of this and more. To succeed, 
prevention must be a central part of our health system, and it will be 
under genuine health reform.
  To achieve a healthier America, over 130 organizations of business 
leaders, policy-makers, health-care professionals, academicians, and 
researchers have agreed on five key prevention principles which should 
be included in health reform. I ask unanimous consent that this 
consensus statement may be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

        Prevention Is Basic to Health Reform Consensus Statement

       Universal access to health and medical care is essential. 
     Without it, preventive services may not reach those most in 
     need. But prevention must be an integral part of our health 
     system, if we are to seriously progress toward reducing the 
     toll of preventable disease and injury and saving taxpayer 
     money. As the debate over health reform intensifies, business 
     leaders, policy-makers, health-care professionals, 
     academicians, and researchers have forged a national 
     partnership to support prevention's health system role. The 
     following key steps should define that role in health reform 
     legislation.
       All standard benefit packages should include full coverage 
     of clinical preventive services and appropriate prevention 
     counseling and education.
       Stable and adequate funding should be provided to 
     revitalize and support community-based preventive services as 
     well as core public health activities. Funding must include 
     the training and education of public health professionals and 
     support for service delivery infrastructure.
       Federal prevention coordination processes should be 
     established to ensure that investments to improve the 
     public's health are based on the best evidence from research 
     and population health data. This may be done through 
     structures such as expert panels addressing (a) clinical 
     preventive services, including benefit plan revisions, (b) 
     community-based preventive services, and (c) prevention-
     oriented social and economic policies.
       A coordinated, confidential public-private data system 
     should be established to assess Americans' health and measure 
     its improvement. The system would identify the most cost-
     effective means of data collection, and would release only 
     aggregate information, not personal data. Population-based 
     data, gathered across all economic and ethnic groups, would 
     include information on health plans, community health needs, 
     health status, quality of care, etc. This would allow 
     measurement of health outcomes, effectiveness of services, 
     and national changes in health status and health risks.
       An incentive-based system should be established to reward 
     employers who successfully implement qualified disease 
     prevention, health promotion and safety programs, and to 
     provide incentives to health plans to improve the health of 
     the communities they serve. Incentive programs should be 
     adaptable by the size and function of different employers.


                 signatories to the consensus statement

       Aetna Health Plans.
       AIDS Action Council.
       Alliance for Aging Research.
       Alliance To End Childhood Lead Poisoning.
       Ambulatory Pediatric Association.
       American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
       American Academy of Pediatrics.
       American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
       American Association for Dental Research.
       American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
       American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
       American Association of Dental Schools.
       American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.
       American Association of Public Health Dentistry.
       American Cancer Society.
       American Clinical Laboratory Association.
       American College Health Association.
       American College of Nurse-Midwives.
       American College of Occupational and Environmental 
     Medicine.
       American College of Physicians.
       American College of Preventive Medicine.
       American College of Sports Medicine.
       American Council for Drug Education.
       American Council of Life Insurance.
       American Dietetic Association.
       American Heart Association.
       American Lung Association.
       American Medical Student Association.
       American Nurses Association.
       American Optometric Association.
       American Pediatric Society.
       American Physical Therapy Association.
       American Podiatric Medical Association.
       American Psychological Society.
       American Public Health Association.
       American Running and Fitness Association.
       American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
       Arkansas Department of Health.
       Association for Health Services Research.
       Association for Worksite Health Promotion.
       Association of Academic Health Centers.
       Association of Junior Leagues International.
       Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs.
       Association of Medical School Pediatric Department 
     Chairmen.
       Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.
       Association of Schools of Public Health.
       Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
       Association of State and Territorial Public Health 
     Laboratory Directors.
       Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine.
       Association of University Programs in Health 
     Administration.
       Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania.
       Bureau of Public Health, West Virginia Department of Health 
     and Human Resources.
       Campaign for Women's Health.
       Catholic Health Association.
       Cecil G. Shaps Center for Health Services Research, 
     University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
       Center for Consumer Health Education, Inc.
       Center for Corporate Public Involvement.
       Center for Science in the Public Interest.
       Center for the Advancement of Health.
       Central States Health & Life Co.
       Citizens For Public Action on Blood Pressure and 
     Cholesterol, Inc.
       Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
       Community Health Accreditation Program.
       Connaught Laboratories.
       Council for Responsible Nutrition.
       Division of Health Promotion, Bureau of Public Health, West 
     Virginia.
       Employee Assistance Professionals Association.
       Every Child By Two.
       Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services.
       Georgia Division of Public Health.
       Health Decisions, Inc.
       Health Education Center, Inc.
       Health Industry Manufacturers Association.
       Health Insurance Association of America.
       Health Management Corporation.
       Health Net.
       IBM Corporation.
       Institute for Advanced Studies in Immunology & Aging.
       Institute of Science, Technology & Public Policy.
       Johnson & Johnson Advanced Behavioral Technologies, Inc.
       Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
       Lederle-Praxis Biologicals.
       Mississippi State Department of Health.
       Missouri Department of Health.
       National Association For Public Health Policy.
       National Association of Black County Officials.
       National Association of Community Health Centers.
       National Association of Counties.
       National Association of County Health Officials.
       National Association of Meal Programs.
       National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Reproductive 
     Health.
       National Association of School Nurses.
       National Association of Social Workers.
       National Association of State Universities and Land Grant 
     Colleges.
       National Business Coalition on Health.
       National Black Caucus of State Legislators.
       National Black Nurses' Association, Inc.
       National Council on Family Relations.
       National Family Planning and Reproductive Health 
     Association.
       National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
       National Hispanic Council on Aging.
       National League for Nursing.
       National Mental Health Association.
       National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
       National Nurse Practitioner Coalition.
       National Osteoporosis Foundation.
       National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
       National Public Health Information Coalition.
       National SAFE KIDS Campaign.
       National Women's Health Network.
       Nevada Division of Health.
       New Mexico Department of Health.
       New York State Association of County Health Officials.
       Older Women's League.
       Partnership for Prevention.
       Public Health Information Services.
       Public Voice for Food and Health Policy.
       Prudential Center for Health Research.
       Society for Pediatric Research.
       South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental 
     Control.
       Society for Adolescent Medicine.
       Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
       Summit '93 Health Coalition.
       The Congress of National Black Churches, Inc.
       The National Black Caucus of State Legislators.
       The National Council on the Aging's Health Promotion 
     Institute.
       The Society of Behavorial Medicine.
       Voluntary Hospitals of America.
       Washington State Department of Health.
       Worksite Health Promotion Alliance.
       YWCA of the U.S.A.

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