source: www.waaam.net
A comprehensive program to reform and advance healthcare in the United States, The A4M Twelve-Point Actionable Healthcare Plan: A Blueprint for A Low Cost, High Yield Wellness Model of Healthcare by 2012 has garnered support from 35 professional medical organizations and educational institutions and was developed with invaluable input from the 24,000 physician, health practitioner, and scientist members of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; www.worldhealth.net) who represent 110 nations worldwide.
We unveil an innovative, technology-based fix to healthcare with the potential to:
- Increase the lifespan, or improve the healthspan, of all Americans by 29+ years;
- Slash healthcare costs, saving $3.7 Trillion; and
- Replace the disease-based approach to medicine with a wellness-oriented model
the underlying philosophy of healthcare in this nation must be reformed in revolutionary new ways. In place of the disease-based approach that treats people after they exhibit signs of illness, we submit that it is time for the nation to adopt a wellness-oriented model to healthcare. Such a model stresses very early detection of illness and promotes disease prevention, yielding opportunities for the best prognoses and economical treatments. As reported by the Congressional Budget Office, up to one-third of this nation’s healthcare spending – more than $700 billion – does not improve Americans’ health outcomes.
To compound the issue of healthcare reform, the United States is a driving force in a trend of unprecedented global aging. The average age of the world’s population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The number of people worldwide ages 65+ was 506 million as of midyear 2008; by 2040, that number will hit 1.3 billion. Thus, in just over 30 years, the proportion of older people will double from 7% to 14% of the total world population. In the United States, men and women ages 65+ represented 12.4% of the population in the year 2000, with that age bracket projected to swell to stand at 20% of the population by 2030. In 2007 in the United States, six major diseases among Americans ages 65+ resulted in medical and lost productivity costs of more than $196 billion. In the coming years, the cases of these six diseases, namely – chronic lung disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia and gastrointestinal illness – are expected to surge as the population ages, potentially sending the costs of age-related diseases skyrocketing. Steps to prepare the nation to address the social, economic, and personal ramifications of a graying society now, are urgently necessary.
The A4M Twelve-Point Actionable Healthcare Plan: A Blueprint for A Low Cost, High Yield Wellness Model of Healthcare by 2012 provides the following practicable “here and now” solutions to reform and advance healthcare in the United States, while addressing the challenges of global aging:
| Point | Point Item | Projected Extension in Healthspan/Lifespan: ADDITIONAL YEARS PER PERSON | Projected Savings to Healthcare System: US $ DOLLARS |
| I | Point of Care (POC) Laboratory Testing | 2 | $6.75 Billion |
| II | Biomarkers of Aging and Health Measurement | 5 | $119.5 Billion |
| III | Free Biannual Comprehensive Metabolic Testing | 3 | $154.6 Billion |
| IV | 24/7 Telemedicine Consultation Access | 3 | $400 Billion |
| V | Aging Intervention Drugs | 3 | $39.2 Billion |
| VI | Stem Cells, Nanotechnology, Genetic Engineering | 4-12 | $197.1 Billion |
| VII | Personalized Genetic Testing and Nutrigenomics | 2 | $292.3 Billion |
| VIII | Free/Subsidized Access to Gym, Spa, Detoxification, and Physical Rehabilitation Facilities | 2 | $23.4 Billion |
| IX | Online Electronic Database on Aging Intervention | 5 | $2.4 Trillion |
| X | Free Online Medical Education | ||
| XI | The World Center for Anti-Aging Medicine | ||
| XII | The Leisure Class | ||
| TOTAL IMPACT, Points 1 though 12 | 29+ years | $3.64 Trillion | |
