To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 respecting the scoring of preventive health savings.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Obernolte (for himself, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Peters, and Mr. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Preventive Health Savings Act changes how the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores legislation related to preventive health care. Currently, CBO evaluates bills over a standard 10-year budget window. This bill allows CBO to prepare supplementary estimates showing potential cost savings over 20 years when preventive health measures (like vaccinations, screenings, or wellness programs) might reduce long-term healthcare costs.
Who Benefits and How
Legislators proposing preventive health legislation benefit by gaining access to long-term cost projections that may show their bills save money over 20 years, making such proposals appear more fiscally responsible. Preventive health care providers—including companies offering vaccinations, health screenings, and wellness programs—benefit because legislation promoting their services becomes easier to justify financially. Pharmaceutical companies producing preventive medications and vaccines similarly benefit from legislation that could expand use of their products. Public health organizations gain by having a stronger budgetary argument for preventive care initiatives.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Congressional Budget Office faces additional workload requirements, as they must prepare complex 20-year budget projections when requested by congressional leadership, adding to their already substantial analytical responsibilities. These extended projections require modeling preventive health outcomes over two decades, which is methodologically challenging and resource-intensive. Critics of expanded government health programs may face a political disadvantage, as this scoring change makes preventive health legislation appear more cost-effective.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes CBO to prepare 20-year budget projections (two consecutive 10-year periods) for preventive health legislation, instead of the standard 10-year window
- Requires CBO to conduct this analysis only when requested jointly by the Budget Committee chairman and ranking member, plus the committee of primary jurisdiction in either the House or Senate
- Defines preventive health care broadly to include interventions supported by epidemiological models, clinical trials, observational studies, longitudinal studies, and meta-analyses
- Explicitly states these long-term estimates are supplementary only and cannot be used to determine compliance with budget rules or enforcement mechanisms
- Requires CBO to include a description of the methodology and basis for any long-term savings conclusions
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act to require CBO to account for long-term preventive health savings when scoring legislation.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Enable legislators to claim budgetary savings for preventive health measures over 20-year windows (beyond normal 10-year scoring), making such legislation appear more fiscally attractive"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Legislators proposing preventive health legislation
- Preventive health care providers (vaccinations, screenings, wellness programs)
- Public health organizations
- Health insurance companies (if preventive care reduces long-term costs)
- Pharmaceutical companies producing preventive medications/vaccines
Likely Burden Bearers
- Congressional Budget Office (additional workload to prepare 20-year projections)
- Potentially critics of expanded government health programs (if this scoring change makes such programs easier to pass)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The 2 consecutive 10-year periods beginning with the first fiscal year that is 10 years after the current fiscal year
An action that focuses on the health of the public, individuals, and defined populations in order to protect, promote, and maintain health and wellness and prevent disease, disability, and premature death, including through the promotion and use of effective, innovative health care interventions that are demonstrated by credible and publicly available evidence from epidemiological projection models, clinical trials, observational studies in humans, longitudinal studies, and meta-analysis
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology