AHIP, public and private organizations raise awareness of preventive health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (June 18, 2024) – AHIP and a coalition of public and private health organizations are launching Promoting Health Through Prevention, a coordinated campaign to promote the availability of preventive services for no out-of-pocket cost under the Affordable Care Act.

Proactive screenings for cancer, behavioral health conditions, and heart disease, among other conditions, can help keep Americans of all ages healthy and identify potential problems early.

“Every American should know what preventive services and screenings are recommended and available to them with no cost sharing under their health insurance coverage,” said Mike Tuffin, President and CEO of AHIP. “We welcome this opportunity to partner with leading stakeholders to help educate consumers about their preventive care benefits.”

Uptake of preventive services varies. For example, approximately 80% of adults are up-to-date with screenings for heart disease, 60-70% are current with cancer screenings, and only 30-40% are being screened or referred for substance use and mental health conditions.

“Our nation’s foremost health policy priority must be prevention,” said Dr. Anand Parekh, chief medical advisor of the Bipartisan Policy Center, who helped catalyze the formation of the coalition. “One significant way to enhance Americans’ health is to increase the uptake of high-value evidence-based clinical preventive services, which can help detect diseases early.”

The coalition will use multiple communications channels and draw attention to several tools and services to educate Americans about the importance of preventive services, including the use of MyHealthfinder, developed by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"Rates of access to preventive health services and primary care visits, which were already well below ideal levels prior to the pandemic, have yet to rebound fully. This is especially worrisome among certain racial and ethnic communities whose rates were concerningly low," explained RDML Paul Reed, MD, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Director, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. "To address such alarming trends – with the attendant risk for delayed or missed diagnoses – we need more partnerships like this one to help improve health literacy and preventive services access."

Participating organizations include: the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cigna Healthcare, Elevance Health, Florida Blue, Highmark Health, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Mental Health America, the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, National Association of Community Health Centers, NCQA, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), Quartz Health Solutions, and the VBID Center at the University of Michigan.