J Am Diet Assoc
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To measure the potential savings from medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and to estimate the net cost to Medicare of covering these services for Medicare enrollees. This includes developing an estimate of the cost of providing medical nutrition services to the Medicare population and estimating the savings in hospital and other spending resulting from the use of these services. ⋯ After an initial period of implementation, coverage for MNT can result in a net reduction in health services utilization and costs for at least some populations. In the case of persons aged 55 years and older, the savings in utilization of hospital and other services will actually exceed the cost of providing the MNT benefit. These results suggest that Medicare coverage of MNT has the potential to pay for itself with savings in utilization for other services.
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To determine whether carbonated soft drink consumption is associated with consumption of milk, fruit juice, and the nutrients concentrated in these beverages. ⋯ Nutrition education messages targeted to children and/or their parents should encourage limited consumption of soft drinks. Policies that limit children's access to soft drinks at day care centers and schools should be promoted.