Broadband Use for Elderly, Disabled a Key to Reducing U.S. Health Care Costs?

A leading U.S. economist last week announced that the U.S. has at its disposal an overlooked "secret weapon" that could significantly reduce health care costs and kickstart the nation’s sluggish economy: accelerated deployment of broadband benefiting an estimated 70 million Americans who are either over 65 or under that age but disabled.

In a report prepared for the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC), Robert E. Litan identifies up to $927 billion in cost savings and output benefits from "business as usual" broadband deployment and an additional $532 billion-$847 billion in economic benefits from accelerated broadband deployment. Litan is vice president for research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation and also is a senior fellow in the economic studies program at the Brookings Institution.

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