Reevaluating the benefits of folic acid fortification in the United States: Economic analysis, regulation, and public health

S.D. Grosse, N.J. Waitzman, P.S. Romano and J. Mulinare

American Journal of Public Health, 2005, vol. 95, issue 11, 1917-1922

Abstract: Before a 1996 US regulation requiring fortification of enriched cereal-grain products with folic acid, 3 economic evaluations projected net economic benefits or cost savings of folic acid fortification resulting from the prevention of pregnancies affected by a neural tube defect. Because the observed decline in neural tube defect rates is greater than was forecast before fortification, the economic gains are correspondingly larger. Applying both cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analytic techniques, we estimated that folic acid fortification is associated with annual economic benefit of $312 million to $425 million. The cost savings (net reduction in direct costs) were estimated to be in the range of $88 million to $145 million per year.

Date: 2005
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2004.058859_7

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.058859

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