A new report that seeks to move the nation from "sick care" to "health care" encourages all employers, including federal, state, and local governments, to provide effective, evidence-based workplace wellness programs.

Trust for America's Health's (TFAH) A Healthier America 2013: Strategies to Move from Sick Care to Health Care in Four Years outlines top policy approaches to respond to studies that show that (1) more than half of Americans are living with 1 or more serious, chronic diseases, a majority of which could have been prevented; and (2) today's children could be on track to be the first in US history to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.

The Healthier America report stresses the importance of taking innovative approaches and building partnerships with a wide range of sectors in order to be effective. Some recommendations include:

• Advance the nation's public health system by adopting a set of foundational capabilities, restructuring federal public health programs, and ensuring sufficient funding to meet these defined foundational capabilities;
• Ensure insurance payment for effective prevention approaches both inside and outside the physician's office;
• Integrate community-based strategies into new health care models, such as by expanding accountable care organizations into accountable care communities; and
• Work with nonprofit hospitals to identify the most effective ways they can expand support for prevention through community benefit programs.

Healthier America features more than 15 case studies from across the country that show the report's recommendations in action. It also includes recommendations for a series of 10 key public health issues.

After the report's release, economic experts came out against TFAH's position on preventive care's role in reducing health care spending. (See related article posted in News Now titled "Experts Say Preventive Care Produces Limited Savings.")