Congratulations to Dr. Michael Okun on the publication of his position paper “U.S. Tax Credits to Promote Practical Proactive Preventative Care for Parkinson’s Disease,” which appears in the March edition of the Journal of Parkiinson’s Disease.
Abstract
Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and society at large can profit from a strategic investment into a forward leaning, practical, preventative, and proactive multidisciplinary care policy. The American healthcare system is not easily bent to accommodate this type of care, and thus a tax benefit is an attractive option. An individual federal income tax benefit of $6200 each year for every person residing in the US with a diagnosis of PD, could among other offerings provide monthly access to a licensed clinical social worker and access to mental health services. The implementation of more coordinated care has the potential reduce the burden of depression, anxiety, and demoralization. Personal training would also be covered and directed by physical and occupational therapists. The combination of home-based and telemedicine services would have the added benefit of improving access. The tax benefit would also provide access to a dietician. This type of care strategy could be designed to proactively identify early signs of aspiration and urinary tract infections to ‘head off’ significant morbidity. A $6200/year individual tax benefit for those diagnosed with PD will thus translate into more fall prevention, more care in the home setting, less hospitalizations, less depression, less anxiety, less demoralization, better diets, and less persons placed in nursing facilities. Additionally, this tax benefit will provide the potential for billions of dollars in savings to the healthcare system. A tax benefit for PD is a practical preventative and proactive strategy which can serve to advantage both this generation and the next.
There is amassing evidence strongly supporting a multidisciplinary approach for the implementation of proactive preventative care for persons with Parkinson’s disease [1–5]. There is, however, no mechanism in the health care system to facilitate this approach. Failure to implement such a tactic will lead to countless unrealized benefits including reduction in falls, hip fractures, and nursing home placements.
Implementation of multidisciplinary care will provide billions of dollars in economic and societal savings. A tax benefit is an attractive solution because the American healthcare system is not easily bent to accommodate practical proactive preventative care for Parkinson’s disease. We must think ‘out of the box’ and implement a more immediate and feasible solution. I propose providing a federal income tax benefit each year for every person residing in the United States with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (Fig. 1).
