Health Investments that Pay Off: Strategies for Addressing Asthma in Children

Studies indicate that when those three evidence-based public health interventions are packaged and provided to children, they have the potential to yield a positive return on investment. Health Investments that Pay Off: Strategies for Addressing Asthma in Children examines the interventions, which have been found to reduce emergency department visits and hospitalizations, improve asthma control, decrease the frequency of symptoms, decrease work and school absenteeism and improve quality of life.

“Asthma cannot presently be prevented or cured, but people who have asthma can live a symptom-free, fully active life with proper treatment and services, beginning at an early age,” said NGA Executive Director Dan Crippen. “To improve health outcomes among children and reduce medical expenses, governors can incorporate interventions into their overall agenda for state health care transformation.”

Governors can take the following actions to implement and finance asthma-based interventions:

·Use a broad range of qualified providers to support effective and efficient delivery of asthma services;

·Encourage collaboration and resource sharing across public and private programs and sectors;

·Use health insurers to improve clinical management and payment for services; and

·Build efficiency and sustainability for the interventions through evaluations.

 To learn more about the NGA Center for Best Practices Health Division, please visit www.nga.org/cms/center/health