Preventive medicine (as opposed to primoridal prevention…how many wellness advocates do you think can define the difference without Googling the terms?) is not going to save money.
If you believe in it as a form of beneficence, that’s fine. Just remember that altruism has a price. So, we either accept the price or we have to think more critically about the policies that we propose and the products and services that wellness vendors sell so boldly as both effective and cheap.
Think preventive medicine will save money? Think again | Reuters.
It is important to not confuse preventative medicine with prevention. The support of healthy lifestyle behaviours to reduce risk is still the best way to prevent chronic illness. If money was targeted at programs that helped high risk individuals change their health habits, then we might see a true change in the rates of ill health.