The old saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is one we have all heard. It turns out that prevention is actually worth a lot more.  Paying personal attention to basic health care, many of the conditions that drive costs in our health care system can be prevented. Therefore, let us focus on the proven basics because it pays financial dividends in our businesses, our families, and at the Capitol budget table.


A report published this summer by the Partnership for Prevention concluded it would be possible to prevent more than 100,000 deaths each year in our nation through just five prevention measures.


For example, fewer than 50 percent of adults age 50 or older are up to date with recommended screenings for colorectal cancer. Increasing timely screens to 90 percent of this population would save 14,000 additional lives. Achieving 90 percent screening rates for breast cancer for women age 40 and older would mean 3,700 lives saved. The screening rate today is 67 percent within the last two years.


The Partnership for Prevention report highlight another simple way to save many lives with something that is very easy to obtain: flu vaccinations. If 90 percent of adults 50 or older got vaccinated each year, we would save 12,000 lives annually. The vaccination rate now is just 37 percent.


I make sure to get a flu vaccination each fall and at the request of the media will be taping a television PSA to urge other Central Texans to do the same. It only takes a few minutes to protect yourself from an easily preventable – yet still deadly – disease.


The issue of health care costs has the attention of the revenue office holder. Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, reported this spring that health problems related to obesity created $3.3 billion in costs for Texas' businesses. Her report quotes figures from the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas School of Public Health that half of all health care expenditures are lifestyle-related. The Texas Legislative Budget Board also reported in January that comprehensive workplace health campaigns can return $4.50 cents in reduced health care costs for every $1 invested.


The Texas Legislature is now pursuing more emphasis on prevention as a strategy to manage health care cost growth. I authored legislation this session (HB 1297) to promote workplace health for state employees and look forward to seeing it fully implemented. The omnibus Medicaid reform bill I sponsored (SB 10) also included a pilot program to test incentives for those Texans on public assistance.


The Texas Legislature also enhanced physical education requirements for elementary and middle-school children under SB 530. While reducing the epidemic of childhood obesity is one clear goal for this legislation, there is another benefit anticipated: better academic performance. Researchers across the nation from Harvard to UCLA are finding boosted school performance associated with vigorous physical education programs. Dr. Kenneth Cooper – a nationally-recognized fitness expert and founder of the Cooper Institute in Dallas – testified before House Committee on Public Education on a study involving nearly one million students that demonstrated a solid relationship between fitness levels and academic performance. The evidence is becoming clear that physical activity stimulates brain development and correlates to educational benefits ranging from improved focus on subjects to fewer classroom disruptions.


As our state and nation grapple with proposed health care policies, the good news is there are a number of steps we can take that cost little and can make a big difference. A greater emphasis on preserving the good health we are born with throughout our lives is a wise investment for all of us. Not only is that ounce of prevention a lot less expensive, it also translates directly into living longer, healthier, and happier lives.

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