Rep. John Garamendi claims preventive health care saves money, reduces deficit

This is one of those urban legends that almost all liberals assume is true.

Granted, there are a few types of preventive care, like vaccines, that can reduce health care costs.. But there are thousands of expensive diagnostics, drugs, and other “preventive” health care services that are cost-additive.  The idea that spending vast sums of government money on these things will reduce overall health care costs is nonsense. Look at what health care experts say:

“[I]t’s not plausible to think you can cut healthcare spending through preventive care. This is widely misunderstood.” — Austin Frakt of Boston University.

“[P]revention itself costs money, and some preventive measures can be very expensive, especially if you give them to a lot of people who won’t benefit.” — Peter Neumann, an expert on health policy and professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine

“The evidence suggests that for most preventive services, expanded utilization leads to higher, not lower, medical spending overall.” — CBO director Douglas Elmendorf

“Sweeping statements about the cost-saving potential of prevention … are overreaching. Studies have concluded that preventing illness can in some cases save money but in other cases can add to health care costs.” — New England Journal of Medicine

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