Figure 1.

The consequences of reactive health care. (a) A graph of US health-care spending shows that nearly three-quarters of a total of $1.5 trillion is committed to the treatment of chronic disease. Little is spent on prevention. (b) The most common chronic diseases and the US national expenditure on treating them are indicated. Sources: American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.