HARTFORD, CT – Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield), Senator Dan Debicella (R-Shelton) and members of the Senate Republican Caucus today introduced a legislative proposal designed to promote healthy living and reduce health care costs for Connecticut residents.  Under the Healthy Living Tax Break, individuals and families who meet preventive care guidelines established by the Department of Public Health will be able to deduct out of pocket medical expenses (including premiums, co-pays and deductibles) from their state income tax. 

“Preventive care must be a central part of the long-term effort to increase access to health care and lower costs.  By detecting and treating serious chronic disease early, we can save lives and help reduce some of the burden on other areas of our health care system.  We believe this tax incentive is a good step in that direction,” said Senator McKinney.  “For example, cancer and heart disease – two leading killers in Connecticut – are 90% less costly to treat if they are caught early.  This amounts to a savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient that can be passed along to other consumers.”

Qualifying for the Healthy Living Tax Break can be as easy as attending your annual physical exam.  During the visit, your physician will help you qualify by ensuring you have had all the annual and semi-annual preventive care screenings recommended for people of your age and gender.  When you’ve completed your physical, your doctor will sign a one-page certification form for you to include in your state income tax filing (see attached .pdf for example).  This form will allow you to deduct all health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles you have paid for that year.

“By focusing on prevention, the Healthy Living Tax Break will help reduce health care costs for everyone.” said Senator Debicella, who authored the proposal.  “For the 94% of us who have health insurance, it will help reduce the systemic causes of increased premiums and deductibles; and for the 6% of people who do not have health insurance, cost reduction will make it cheaper to purchase private insurance or enroll in Governor Rell’s Charter Oak Plan.”

Research indicates that by making reasonable improvements in preventing and managing chronic disease, Connecticut can improve public health, save money, and relieve some of the considerable strain on hospitals and caregivers (see attached .pdf for more).  According to a recent study by the Milken Institute, nearly 2 million cases of seven chronic diseases – cancers, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, mental disorders and pulmonary conditions – were reported in Connecticut in 2003.  The medical cost of treating these conditions totaled $3.3 billion – and this is expected to increase to $7.6 billion by 2023 due to the aging of the population.

However, the report says active prevention can stop up to 25% of these chronic illnesses (400,000) cases in 2023.  This would avoid $1.9 billion dollars in costs associated with direct treatments.

In addition, chronic illnesses cause massive productivity losses in Connecticut as people are forced out of the workforce.  The Milken Institute estimates that Connecticut lost $12.9 billion in economic activity due to chronic illnesses, and this loss will grow to $37 billion by 2023.

But again, 25% of this cost could be avoided by active prevention, adding $9-10 billion to the Connecticut economy.  Getting people back to work instead of being sick is better for them, their families, and for the Connecticut economy as a whole.

A recent survey conducted by the University of Pittsburgh determined that only 20% of all Americans actually get annual physical exams.  The Healthy Living Tax Break will provide an incentive to encourage more people to get their physicals and use preventative care.

As the Department of Public Health works to create awareness for the Healthy Living Tax Break, Senate Republicans estimate that approximately 20% of families will take advantage of it in its first year, at an estimated cost of $20 million.  As awareness for the tax incentive grows, Senate Republicans estimate that between 25-50% of families will take advantage of the tax credit at a cost of $25-50 million per year.

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