Public Health and American Well-Being

To develop strategies that improve Americans’ health and well-being, through evidence-based policymaking and the promotion of medical innovation.

• Personal characteristics, including behaviors and genetics, are generally more important determinants of health and well-being than health insurance or medical care.
• Medical innovation is a key factor in improving health.
• Government interventions can be counterproductive and decrease health and well-being.
• Private initiatives and market forces can be more effective than government programs for improving health and addressing public health emergencies.
• The American people, armed with clear information and the ability to exercise choice, are key players in improving the nation’s health.

Goal 1: Identify the determinants of public health and wellness.

• Determine which personal characteristics, including behaviors, influence health and how they do so.
• Study the impact of various government programs and regulations on health, including the ability to respond to health emergencies such as pandemics.
• Identify strategies to increase beneficial health care innovations.

Goal 2: Improve Americans’ Health and Well-Being

• Reform, or eliminate, government programs and regulations that decrease health.
• Restructure government agencies and bureaucracies that impede innovation and hamper the ability to promptly address urgent national and individual health care needs.
• Increase health care innovation by implementing evidence-based strategies.
• Empower people with the information they need to improve their health.
• Create incentives for people to take charge of improving their health.