PORTLAND (AP) — U.S. Sen. Angus King is among a group of lawmakers who wants the Congressional Budget Office to prioritize the role of prevention in health care.
King, a Maine independent, is joining Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin and New Mexico Democratic Sen. Tom Udall in proposing the Preventive Health Savings Act. The senators say the proposal would direct the CBO to more accurately reflect the cost savings associated with preventive health care.
King says ensuring future CBO studies take a longer view will help maximize the impact of preventive care.
Cardin says prioritizing prevention and early detection through tools such as cancer screenings and immunizations lowers health care costs by reducing severity of disease. He says neglect of prevention has been “overwhelming our health care budgets.”
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less