Preventive health economics: investing in population health

Welcome to this Henry Stewart Talk on Preventive Health Economics: Investing in Population Health. My name is Reinhard Strametz. I'm a professor at RheinMain University in Wiesbaden. In this session, we will explore one of the most vital and timely areas in health economics, the financial return on investment or ROI of preventive health initiatives.

In an era of increasing healthcare costs, aging populations and strained budgets, prevention is not a luxury; it's a necessity. We'll examine how interventions like vaccinations, workplace wellness programs and early screenings do more than improve public health. They reduce the need for expensive treatments, increase economic productivity, and strengthen the resilience of healthcare systems. Prevention is one of the rare strategies that offers a triple win: better health outcomes, lower long-term costs, and increased social equity. Using real-life case studies and evidence-based data, I'll show you how preventive health can be evaluated not just in terms of clinical success, but as a smart financial investment. Our aim is to shift the mindset from paying for care to investing in health. Let's begin this journey into the economics of population health.

Before we begin, you might have noticed the image of Benjamin Franklin on this slide. That's not a coincidence, and by the end of this talk, I'll explain exactly why he's here and why his words continue to shape how we think about prevention even in modern health economics. Noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions are responsible for more than 70% of global deaths. Many of these conditions are preventable or can be delayed through simple, cost-effective interventions. Despite this, healthcare systems around the world continue to prioritize acute, curative care. Hospitals are built, surgeries are scheduled, and medications are prescribed often at great expense. But too little is invested in stopping disease before it begins. Economically, the cost of preventable illness is staggering. Chronic disease drains natural healthcare budgets, increases out-of-pocket expenses for families, and reduces workforce productivity. The World Economic Forum estimates that noncommunicable diseases could cost the global economy over $47 trillion between 2010 and 2030. Prevention, in contrast, has the power to flatten this rising curve, both in terms of disease burden and financial strain. School-based education programs, tobacco taxation, access to vaccines, and healthy urban planning can all generate measurable health and economic returns. Just in case you're not familiar with Benjamin Franklin, he was one of the founding fathers of the United States, a scientist, diplomat, and a man deeply concerned with public health and civic planning. His insights into prevention weren't just philosophical. It was pragmatic; more on that soon.