Cuts to preventive health care would be costly and would cause deaths

By Hillary Hanson, Alicia Thompson, Ellen Leahy, Melanie Reynolds

The United States is having a furious debate about how best to address the nation's financial problems. A variety of proposals have been suggested, but we need to be careful. Making poor decisions now could result in even worse problems down the road.

This is the case with proposed cuts to federal funds for preventive health programs in Montana.

Do you remember Benjamin Franklin's quote, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? This is precisely the case with preventive health care. Any short-term savings gained by mak...