Originally published in Fortune

By ROBERT REISS

For two decades I’ve been on hospital boards, observing the challenges of our national health system. Now, after personally interviewing over 100 leading health care CEOs, the problem is becoming clear: The current incentive system is actually backwards. It favors services rendered in hospitals by reacting to illness instead of preventing it and creating wellness.

“From an insurance perspective, we know the extraordinary value of preventative care, particularly when dealing with potentially catastrophic challenges like cancer or heart disease. From a human perspective, we know that the chances of survival rise exponentially with early detection. We also know that from a financial outlook, preventing a disease is a lot less costly than treating one for both the patient and insurance carrier,” Virgil Miller, the president of Aflac U.S., told me.

Continue reading the full article here.

Aflac Incorporated

Aflac Incorporated

Aflac is a Fortune 500 company, providing financial protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. When a policyholder or insured gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fairly, promptly and directly to the insured. For more than six decades, Aflac voluntary insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress.

More from Aflac Incorporated