Anti-Aging Medicine: Obama white house can save $3.7 trillion and extend lifespan 29 + years.

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; www.worldhealth.net), the world's largest professional organization dedicated to advancing research and clinical pursuits that enhance the quality and extend the quantity of the human lifespan, unveils an innovative, technology-based fix to health care with the potential to:

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* increase the lifespan, or improve the health span, of all Americans by 29 + years;

* slash health-care costs, saving $3.7 trillion; and

* replace the disease-based approach to medicine with a wellness-oriented model.

A comprehensive program to reform and advance health care in the US, "The A4M Twelve-Point Actionable Healthcare Plan: A Blueprint for A Low Cost, High Yield Wellness Model of Healthcare by 2012," has garnered support from 35 professional medical organizations and educational institutions and was developed with invaluable input from the 24 000 physician, health-practitioner, and scientist members of the A4M, who represent 110 nations worldwide.

When legislators on Capitol Hill return for the fall Congress session, they will continue to debate a $1.65 trillion, 10-year plan to overhaul the nation's failing health-care system. The majority of the plan focuses on how to pay for health insurance, rather than formulating a comprehensive plan of action for reform itself. The contributing editors, authors, and endorsing organizations of the Twelve-Point Plan submit that the underlying philosophy of health care in this nation must be reformed in revolutionary new ways. In place of the disease-based approach that treats people after they exhibit signs of illness, we submit that it is time for the nation to adopt a wellness-oriented model of health care. Such a model stresses the very early detection of illness and promotes disease prevention, yielding opportunities for the best prognoses and economical treatments. As reported by the Congressional Budget Office, up to one-third of this nation's health-care spending--more than $700 billion--does not improve Americans' health outcomes.

To compound the issue of health-care reform, the US is a driving force in a trend of unprecedented global aging. The average age of the world's population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The number of people worldwide ages 65+ was 506 million as of midyear 2008; by 2040, that number will hit 1.3 billion. Thus, in just over 30 years, the proportion of older people will double from 7% to 14% of the total world population. In the US, men and women ages 65+ represented 12.4% of the population in 2000, with that age bracket projected to swell to stand at 20% of the population by 2030. In 2007 in the US, six major diseases among Americans ages 65+ resulted in medical and lost productivity costs of more than $196 billion. In the coming years, the cases of these six diseases, namely, chronic lung disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia, and gastrointestinal illness, are expected to surge as the population ages, potentially sending the costs of age-related diseases skyrocketing. Steps to prepare the nation to address the social, economic, and personal ramifications of a graying society now are urgently necessary.

"The A4M Twelve-Point Actionable Healthcare Plan" provides the following practicable "here-and-now" solutions to reform and advance health care in the US, while addressing the challenges of global aging:

The costs of health care impose an enormous burden on the economy. The latest projections from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that annual health-care expenditures in the US are expected to reach $3.1 trillion by 2012, growing at an average annual rate of 7.3% during the forecast period or 17.7% of gross domestic product, up from 14.1% today.

To compound the spiraling costs of health care, the nation's physicians are discontent with the business of medicine. In the fall 2008, the Physician's Foundation surveyed 12000 primary-care doctors and specialists nationwide, and found that nearly half--a staggering 49%--said they would consider leaving medicine. Many said they are overwhelmed with the red tape of insurance companies and government agencies. For a significant number of physicians surveyed, it has become financially unattractive to operate a medical practice. In addition, an American Medical Association survey found that new medical school graduates are shying away from family medicine, with only 2% of the 2009 graduating year planning to enter primary care medicine.

Today, the climate of the practice of medicine is daunting. Mark Linzer and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin surveyed 422 internists and family physicians, studying patterns of dissatisfaction as a function of work environment and quality of care. The researchers found that 53.1% reported time pressures during the patient consult, and 48.1% reported chaotic working environments. Only 23.7% thought that quality was a strong emphasis of the patient-physician encounter. Nearly one-third of the physicians (30.1 %) said that they were likely to leave their practices within two years.

In short, the national health-care system is crippled by burdensome regulations and paperwork, declining financial incentive for physicians, and a dominating disease-based approach. It also suffers from the demands of an ever-graying population, as the number of Americans aged 45 to 64--who will reach 65 over the next two decades -increased by 38% from 1997 to 2007.

The contributing editors, authors, and endorsing organizations of the Twelve-Point Plan urge this nation to adopt a technology-driven, wellness-oriented model of health care. Anti-aging medicine is the pinnacle of biotechnology joined with advanced clinical preventive medicine. Adoption of the anti-aging medical model delivers the best of advanced preventive medicine to all Americans, not merely our older population segments.

The elements of the Twelve-Point Plan will significantly improve and extend the healthy human lifespan. Each point of this program will also deliver a profound net economic savings via three major mechanisms:

1. conservation of worker productivity;

2. reduction of disability and hospitalization costs;

3. reduction of the burden of costs associated with chronic long-term medical conditions.

The implementation of "The A4M Twelve-Point Actionable Healthcare Plan" may save our society a projected $3.64 trillion in health-care costs, and extend the healthy lifespan of each of our nation's residents by up to 29 productive, vital years.

Complete references and supporting data for projections may be viewed in the full version of "The A4M Twelve-Point Actionable Healthcare Plan: A Blueprint for A Low Cost, High Yield Wellness Model of Healthcare by 2012." Request your free copy of this white paper at www.waaam. org/twelve_points_summary.php.

Point  Point Item                        Projected       Projected
                                       Extension in     Savings to
                                          Health        Health-Care
                                       Span/Lifespan:      System
                                        Additional
                                         Years Per
                                          Person

1      Point of Care (POC) Laboratory       2           $6.75 Billion
       Testing

2      Biomarkers of Aging and Health       5          $119.5 Billion
       Measurement

3      Free Biannual Comprehensive          3          $154.6 Billion
       Metabolic Testing

4      24/7 Telemedicine Consultation       3            $400 Billion
       Access

5      Aging Intervention Drugs             3           $39.2 Billion

6      Stem Cells, Nanotechnology,         4-12        $197.1 Billion
       Genetic Engineering

7      Personalized Genetic Testing         2          $292.3 Billion
       and Nutrigenomics

8      Free/Subsidized Access to Gym,       2           $23.4 Billion
       Spa, Detoxification, and
       Physical Rehabilitation
       Facilities

9      Online Electronic Database on        5           $2.4 Trillion
       Aging Intervention

10     Free Online Medical Education

11     The World Center for
       Anti-Aging Medicine

12     The Leisure Class

Total Impacts, Points 1 though 12        29+ years     $3.64 Trillion

by Ronald Klatz, MD, DO, and Robert Goldman, MD, PhD, DO, FAASP www.worldhealth.net

Contributing Editors

Ronald M. Klatz, MD, DO, president and physician cofounder, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M); appointed member, Global Action Council on the Challenges of Gerontology, World Economic Forum; director, World Anti-Aging Academy of Medicine

Robert M. Goldman, MD, PhD, DO, FAASP, chairman and physician cofounder, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M); world chairman, International Medical Commission; chairman, World Anti-Aging Academy of Medicine; president emeritus, National Academy of Sports Medicine 

Joseph C. Maroon, MD, professor of neurosurgery, Heindl Scholar in Neuroscience and vice chairman of neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; member of the international editorial board, Neurological Research and the Journal of Sports Medicine; past president, Congress of Neurological Surgeons

Nicholas A. DiNubile, MD, orthopedic consultant to the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and Pennsylvania Ballet 

Michael Klentze, MD, PhD, secretary-general, European Society of Anti-Aging Medicine; medical director, Vitalife Wellness Center of Bumrungrad Hospital, Thailand