PFCD Responds to Sen. McCain’s Speech on Health Care

April 29, 2008 -- In response to the health care proposals U.S. Senator John McCain released today, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease Executive Director Ken Thorpe issued the following statement:

"Sen. McCain is right to focus his attention on the rising cost of health care and we applaud his attention to the role that chronic disease plays in this problem. The data is compelling. Chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease are the leading causes of death in the U.S. and account for more than 75 percent of the $2 trillion spent each year on health care. Reducing these human and financial costs is our greatest challenge and any serious proposal to reform our health care system must put new emphasis on prevention, not just treatment, if we are to address preventable chronic disease."

Chronic diseases are at the root of a significant portion of rising health care costs. About two-thirds of the rise in health care spending over the last two decades is due to the rise in treated rates of chronic disease. But direct health care costs represent only a quarter of the total cost of chronic diseases. Indirect costs such as absenteeism and presenteeism, or lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but perform below par due to any kind of illness, cost America’s businesses over $1 trillion a year.

About the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease:
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is a national coalition of patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups and health policy experts committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs in the U.S.: chronic disease.

The PFCD's mission is to:

  • Challenge policymakers - in particular, the 2008 presidential candidates - to make the issue of chronic disease a top priority and articulate how they will address the issue through their health care proposals
  • Educate the public about chronic disease and potential solutions for individuals, communities, and the nation
  • Mobilize Americans to call for change in how policymakers, governments, employers, health institutions, and other entities approach chronic disease

For more information about the PFCD and its partner organizations, please visit: http://www.fightchronicdisease.org.

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