Expenditures associated with preventive healthcare

Background. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion emphasizes the use of preventive healthcare interventions to “increase quality and years of healthy life”. The objective of this study is to evaluate over a 1-year period the total individual healthcare expenditures based upon the likelihood of the person utilizing preventive healthcare measures. Methods. We analyzed data from the 1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to compare healthcare expenditures of respondents who have and have not followed generally accepted preventive healthcare measures including influenza vaccination, blood pressure checkup, prostate examination, cholesterol determination, and mammography. Results. In general, respondents who lacked evidence of pursuing accepted preventive healthcare practices had lower overall healthcare expenditures in 1998 compared to those who pursued such practices. Specifically, they had lower expenditures for office-based visits and for prescriptions. Conclusions. People who pursue accepted preventive healthcare measures spent more for their total healthcare over a given year.