Potential national and state medical care savings from primary disease prevention.

Objectives: We estimated national and state-level potential medical care cost savings achievable through modest reductions in the prevalence of several diseases associated with the same lifestyle-related risk factors.

Methods: Using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component data (2003-2005), we estimated the effects on medical spending over time of reductions in the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and related conditions amenable to primary prevention by comparing simulated counterfactual morbidity and medical care expenditures to actual disease and expenditure patterns. We produced state-level estimates of spending by using multivariate reweighting techniques.

Using the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership to improve public health.

The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), a collaborative effort, uses local information in community building and policy making. A local intermediary in 19 NNIP partnership cities builds local data systems. Partners have learned five important lessons: (1) neighborhood-level data are essential for developing public policy, (2) technological advances have made it possible to maintain detailed local databases at relatively low cost, (3) various types of local organizations can serve as local partners, (4) good leadership is critical to building bridges across agencies, and (5) providing data is only the first step.