Author(s): Alliance for Excellent Education
- Bill DeBaun
- Martens Roc
- Dr. Peter Muennig – Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
Published: July 10th, 2013
Report Intro/Brief:
“The report examines Medicaid spending for all fifty states and the District of Columbia on four key afflictions-alcoholism, heart disease, obesity, and smoking-as well as determines overall Medicaid savings. Support for the report was provided in part by State Farm as part of a series of documents that demonstrates the economic benefits from improving high school graduation rates.
According to the report, the $7.3 billion in annual Medicaid savings breaks out to $900 million in preventative costs related to heart disease, $1.9 billion linked to obesity, $1.4 billion related to alcoholism, and nearly $2 billion associated with reduced smoking and tobacco use. To make the connection between high school graduation and health-care savings, the Alliance worked with Dr. Peter Muennig of Columbia University.”
–Alliance for Excellent Education
