Three-quarters of the more than $2 trillion in annual U.S. health care spending goes to paying the bills for chronic illness. Across the globe, the World Health Organization estimates that three out of every five deaths come from chronic disease. International surveys show that no country has truly figured out how to address chronic conditions or prevent chronic diseases in an effective and coordinated fashion, but the United States does a particularly poor job in this area: U.S. patients with chronic illness are far more likely than their counterparts in other countries to face high out-of-pocket costs, to forgo care because of cost, and to experience high rates of medical errors. Improving chronic care and preventing chronic illness will be high on the agenda as President-Elect Obama attempts to reform the nation’s health care system.

Against this background, Health Affairs devoted its January-February issue to the problem of chronic care, potential solutions and strategies for prevention. The issue was released at a briefing on Tuesday, January 6, at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. At the briefing, Kathryn Anne Paez of the Center for Health Policy and Research, Social and Scientific Systems presented an overview of a decade’s worth of out-of-pocket spending trends for chronic conditions. David Bott of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Sandra Foote of Capitol Health, and James Pope of Healthways examined the lessons of disease management initiatives in fee-for-service Medicare and other settings. Ron Goetzel of Thomson Reuters, Louise Russell of Rutgers and Brent Pawlecki of Pitney Bowes discussed what prevention efforts can – and can not – be expected to achieve.

The briefing and the January-February Health Affairs issue were supported by grants from Eli Lilly and Company and Wyeth.

Full-length Audiocast
QuickTime Audio (Length: 2h:03; Size: 112.78 MB) Download to iTunes

Welcome and Introductions
•Susan Dentzer, Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs
QuickTime Audio (Length: 7m:45; Size: 11.44 MB)

Out-Of-Pocket Spending For Chronic Conditions
•Kathryn Paez, Center for Health Policy and Research
QuickTime Audio (Length: 12m:31; Size: 7.09 MB)
PowerPoint slides

Preventing Chronic Illness: What Can We Achieve?
•Louise Russell, Rutgers
•Ron Goetzel, Thomson Reuters
•Brent Pawlecki, Pitney Bowes
QuickTime Audio (Length: 39m:12; Size: 39.02 MB)
PowerPoint slides

Discussion: Lessons of Disease Management Initiatives
•David Bott, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services PowerPoint slides
•Sandra Foote, Capitol Health
•James Pope, Healthways PowerPoint slides
QuickTime Audio (Length: 40m:57; Size: 37.41 MB)

Questions and Answers QuickTime Audio (Length: 22m:59; Size: 21.01 MB)

Concluding Remarks