Chronic diseases, the dominant source of mortality in the United States, are driven by risk factors that are largely preventable. Preventive care has the potential to control risk factors, thereby reducing the prevalence of costly chronic conditions. With the percentage of gross domestic product spent on health care tripling from 1960 to 2006, policy-makers are looking to preventive care as a way to slow the rate of growth in health spending.

This synthesis provides policy-makers with a framework for evaluating the cost-effectiveness literature and investigates the economic evidence for investing in preventive care. The report focuses on primary and secondary prevention measures delivered in a clinical setting and does not address community-based preventive services.

Key Findings:

• Preventive services can reduce the prevalence of a targeted disease or condition and help people live longer, healthier lives.
• Many preventive services offer good value for increasingly scarce health care dollars.
• However, most preventive care does not result in cost savings.