A financial cost-benefit analysis of a health promotion program for individuals with mobility impairments.

People with disabilities make up approximately 20% of the U.S.population but account for 47% of total medical expenditures(Max, Rice, & Trupin, 1996). Health promotion programs representone strategy for both improving health and containing medicalcosts for this population. This study examined the financialnet benefits of the Living Well with a Disability health promotionprogram from the perspective of a third-party payer. Net benefitswere defined as reductions in health-care utilization costsminus program implementation costs. The study sample consistedof 188 people with physical disabilities who completed the LivingWell health promotion program. Health-care cost outcomes werecollected using a 2-month retrospective recall of health-careservices multiplied by Medicare unit cost estimates. The netbenefits for the first 6 months postintervention were $2,631per person for the entire cohort and $127 per person for a trimmeddata set. The results suggested positive financial benefitsand provide grounds for further research about third-party payersupport of health promotion programs for individuals with physicaldisabilities.