Senate Proceeding on Oct 14th, 2009 :: 0:46:40 to 0:52:45
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0:46:21 to 0:46:42( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: years, take in the latest scientific evidence, make recommendations for revising the mix of clinical preventive services. so let me just review again some of the ways that the senate health committee bill, in a very careful way, will put prevention and wellness at the very heart of health reform. first, we create a federal level

0:46:40 to 0:52:45( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Tom Harkin

0:46:43 to 0:47:03( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: prevention and public health council to improve coordination among federal agencies incorporating wellness into a natial policy, a national prevention, a public health strategy. all of the departments should be doing this, not just the department of health and human services. but the department of

0:47:04 to 0:47:24( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: agriculture, the department of defense, the department of veterans affairs, the department of transportation, and on and on. all of them ought to have an integral part of their deliberations and their proposals for future legislation that they might propose here in

0:47:25 to 0:47:45( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: the congress an element of prevention and wellness. we'll just take the department of transportation for example. are they really thinking about, when they are thinking about highways and bridges and roads and things like that, are they really and walking paths and sidewalks in cities that have to be

0:47:46 to 0:48:06( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: incorporated into the planning if they want to get federal money? well, they haven't so far. but this is what i mean. we need this kind of an, an overall coordinating council at the presidential, at the white house level, as i said, at the department level. we also start a prevention and public health investment fund to

0:48:07 to 0:48:29( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: provide for expanded and sustained national investments in prevention programs in communities across america. in -- let me get these out of he

0:48:30 to 0:48:50( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: in a 2007 study by the trust for america's health, found major savings from community-based -- there's clinical-based prevention, where you go in, you get a screening. but then there are community-based programs to improve physical activity, nutrition, reduce smoking rates, things like that. they found that a national

0:48:51 to 0:49:11( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: investment of just $10er person per year -- think about that. $10 per person per year in certain community-based wellness programs would yield these kinds of savings. in the one to two years, $2.8 billion. five years, $16 billion.

0:49:12 to 0:49:33( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: 10 to 20 years, $18.5 billion. so, again, on both the community level and the clinical level, we provide for funding and a structure toake wellness and prevention an integral part of our health care system. for example, our bill would target nutrition counseling to prediabetic patients.

0:49:34 to 0:49:54( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: well, right now, under medicare, for example, and most insurance companies, they will reimburse thousands ofollars to take care of your diabetic condition once you get diabetes. they'll pay for amputating a foot or a leg. they'll pay for all these expensive things after you get diabetes.

0:49:55 to 0:50:15( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: they'll pay for a lifetime of treatment. but now they willot reimburse the cost of nrition counseling for a few hundred dollars for someone who's prediabetic and who could prevent the disease through changes in diet. that doesn't make sense. so our bill would change this by

0:50:16 to 0:50:40( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: requiring insurance plans to reimburse for nutrition counseling for prediabetic individuals. another example of a cost-effective approach. now, for essential screenis and annual physicals, our bill would get rid of co-pays and deductibles for things like your

0:50:41 to 0:51:02( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: annu physical checkups, vaccinations, cole tphos coparliamentary inquiries for the right population group -- colonoscopies for the right population group. senator murray of washington did a great job of incorporating workforce developments in our committee bill. and a lot of that workforce

0:51:03 to 0:51:23( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: development is in the area of primary care and preventive care and wellness. finally, let me mention that our bill will give a powerful boost to employer-sponsored wellness programs. our bill would allow employers to reward employees for participating in wellness programs by giving them a health

0:51:24 to 0:51:44( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: insurance premium discount of up to 30%. in other words, if participate in a program that is provided by your employer, you can get a discount of up to 30% insurance premium. this is something that has been done, i believe, by safeway and others, and they've shown that

0:51:45 to 0:52:06( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: they have had great results. people then can see the benefit of wellness and prevention by getting a reduction in their health care premiums. workplace wellness programs, everything from nutrition counseling to smoking cessation, typically cost about $20 to $200 per employee per year.

0:52:07 to 0:52:27( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: but again, they have a proven rate of return ranging from to $10 within every dollar spent. if you don't believe me, just ask pitney bowes and what they did, or safeway and what they did. i just single those two out. many companies have already gone way ahead of us in providing

0:52:28 to 0:52:45( Edit History Discussion )

Tom Harkin: wellness programs for their employees. now, are they doing it just out of sheer generosity? no. th they know that if they provide llness and prevention programs for their employees, their rate