NEHI Calls for Massachusetts Wellness Campaign to Curb Chronic Illness and Rein in Health Care Costs

June 30, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, MA – As Massachusetts faces increasing health care costs driven by sharp increases in costly, preventable chronic illness, the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI) and the Boston Foundation today released new research highlighting the vital importance of improving wellness in the Commonwealth. The research, contained in Healthy People in a Healthy Economy: A Blueprint for Action in Massachusetts, concludes that a large-scale campaign promoting health and fitness across every sector of the economy is necessary to address the public health and economic tolls of preventable chronic disease.

The report was released today at a forum at the Boston Foundation moderated by Carole Simpson of Emerson College and featuring David Cutler, Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard Kennedy School; Ruth Ellen Fitch, President and CEO, The Dimock Center; Ranch Kimball, President and CEO, Joslin Diabetes Center; and Bruno Nardone, National Leader for State and Local Healthcare, IBM.

This new research follows the 2007 NEHI/Boston Foundation report, The Boston Paradox: Lots of Health Care, Not Enough Health, which first described the “double threat” of rising health care costs combined with a rise in preventable chronic illness which together could undermine the region’s economic competitiveness. In the two years since publication of that report, the recession has only exacerbated these trends. A recent American Heart Association survey showed that more than half the respondents said the economy is affecting their ability to take care of their health needs, one quarter had cancelled their gym memberships and four in ten were eating less healthy meals.

“These recession-related repercussions could not come at a worse time in the state’s battle against rising health care costs and preventable chronic disease,” said Valerie Fleishman, executive director of NEHI. “Through unhealthy behaviors, people are becoming unnecessarily ill at a time when we can least afford it.”

Over 50 percent of Massachusetts residents are currently overweight or obese, conditions which fuel chronic illnesses such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. Diabetes alone has skyrocketed by 40 percent in a decade, and the cumulative toll of chronic illness on the Massachusetts economy is estimated at $34 billion.

Healthy People in a Healthy Economy addresses the unhealthy behaviors fueling chronic disease by recommending a wide-reaching campaign to promote wellness and fitness, building on the initial progress made through the state’s Mass in Motion campaign. The blueprint recommends a coordinated effort that includes multiple sectors working in tandem, including:


Schools
•    Lawmakers and educators should replace unhealthy foods with nutritious options in schools.
•    Educators and lawmakers should reconcile health promotion with academic requirements.

Municipalities
•    The state’s transportation strategy should promote physical activity over use of automobiles.
•    Housing policy should create more walkable, fitness-friendly communities.

State Government
•    The Commonwealth should encourage adoption of wellness incentives, such as those in the state’s health insurance reform law.

Payers
•    Massachusetts payers should form a coalition to test comprehensive approaches to promoting health and wellness interventions through health plans.

Employers
•    Employer associations and the state should promote awareness of best practices in employee health management.
•    Small- and mid-sized employers should work with health insurers to bring evidence-based health promotion to fully-insured firms.

The Food Industry
•    Supermarkets and restaurants should begin a dialogue on voluntary food labeling.
•    The Commonwealth should end the current sales tax exemption for snack foods.

Physicians
•    Physicians and payers should identify opportunities to reimburse physicians for promoting healthy behaviors. The state’s initiative to reform health care payment provides an ideal vehicle.

Philanthropies
•    Grantmakers should continue to identify ways to share best practices and optimize health promotion funding with other organizations.

The Media/Opinion Leaders
•    Organizations promoting wellness should pool resources and reinforce their messages.
•    Massachusetts’ ‘newsmaker cluster’ of experts in health and wellness should serve as an important partner in efforts to communicate positive messages around diet and fitness.

The report suggests that a statewide culture shift to promote wellness could reduce the burden of chronic disease and create more affordable health care for all Massachusetts residents.

“As a center of innovation, Greater Boston and Massachusetts can lead the way in shifting the focus—not only in our region, but across the nation—from health care to health,” said Paul Grogan, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation.

To download Healthy People in a Healthy Economy, visit www.nehi.net.

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About the Boston Foundation
The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation, with assets of $763 million.  In Fiscal Year 2008, the Foundation and its donors made close to $79 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of $113 million. The Foundation is made up of some 900 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes.  The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to address the community’s and region’s most pressing challenges.  For more information about the Boston Foundation, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.

About NEHI
The New England Healthcare Institute is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming health care for the benefit of patients and their families. In partnership with members from all across the health care system, NEHI conducts evidence-based research and stimulates policy change to improve the quality and the value of health care. Together with this unparalleled network of committed health care leaders, NEHI brings an objective, collaborative and fresh voice to health policy. For more information, visit www.nehi.net.