Public Health, Medical Care, and Mortality Rates

This study examined the association between public health spending and leading mortality rates in the United States. Results indicate that government spending on public health is significantly associated with improving the life chances of the population. Public health spending was consistently associated with reduced total mortality and with lower mortalities due to heart disease, cancer, and stroke—the leading causes of death in the United States. However, medical care expenditures on hospital care and prescription drugs were significantly associated with increased total mortality and mortalities due to heart disease, cancer, and stroke. The policy implication is to reorient the currently expensive, clinically based, treatment-focused medical care system toward a more cost-effective health care system oriented toward public health and prevention. A more balanced health care system, with concomitant emphasis on medical care and public health, should be established.