If We Want to Cut Health Care Costs, Start in Midlife

If We Want to Cut Health Care Costs, Start in Midlife

Commentary The United States spends more than $4 trillion each year on health care, and the vast majority of that spending goes toward chronic and mental health conditions. Alzheimer’s disease alone affects more than 6 million Americans, and the Alzheimer’s Association projects its annual cost could exceed $1 trillion by 2050. Medicare’s long-term strain is no longer abstract. Yet we continue to approach chronic illness as though it begins at di…