By LARRY LIPMAN
Cox News Service
Published on: 10/02/07
Chronic diseases cost the nation's economy more than $1 trillion a year in lost productivity, and the amount could jump to about $6 trillion by mid-century, according to a report released Tuesday.
That is in addition to the nearly $300 billion it costs to treat chronic disease among those not in nursing homes.
"By investing in good health, we can add billions of dollars in economic growth in the coming decades," said Ross DeVol, director of regional economics at the non-profit Milken Institute and principal author of the report. "With moderate improvements in prevention and early intervention such as reducing the rate of obesity, the savings to the economy would be enormous."