Giving Compass' Take:

· According to a new study from the University of Illinois, countries with more shrubery and forests have reduced Medicare and healthcare costs.

· How does nature and trees affect the health of individuals? How can donors contribute to rebuilding forests and the environment to improve public health?

· Here's more on connecting the community and environment to healthcare.

A new study finds that Medicare costs tend to be lower in counties with more forests and shrublands than in counties dominated by other types of land cover. The relationship persists even when accounting for economic, geographic or other factors that might independently influence health care costs, researchers report.

The analysis included county-level health and environmental data from 3,086 of the 3,103 counties in the continental U.S.

Urban and rural counties with the lowest socioeconomic status appeared to benefit the most from increases in forests and shrubs, said University of Illinois graduate student Douglas A. Becker, who led the new research with Matt Browning, a professor of recreation, sport and tourism at the U. of I.

“At first, I was surprised by this,” Becker said. “But then it occurred to me that low-income communities are getting the biggest bang for their buck because they probably have the most to gain.”

The findings, reported in the journal Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, are observational and do not prove that having more trees and shrubs directly lowers health care costs, Becker said. But the study adds to a growing body of evidence linking green space – in particular, forested areas – to better health outcomes for those living nearby.

Read the full article about the effects of the environment on public health costs by Diana Yates at the University of Illinois News Bureau.