$250 Million for Prevention And Public Health A Step in the Right Direction, Says ASTHO
Arlington, VA (June 21, 2010) The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials welcomes the announcement that $250 million of the remaining prevention and public health fund, established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will be used to support prevention activities and develop the nation’s public health infrastructure. The announcement was made late Friday afternoon by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund is a historic investment in prevention and public health programs that prevent illness and injury before they occur, resulting in lower healthcare costs. Focusing on preventing the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States provides the greatest opportunity to help this and future generations of Americans live healthier lives and reduce healthcare costs.
“This funding, particularly the $70 million allocated for public health infrastructure and the $23 million for public health training, is critical to our ability to respond to major health threats and maintain essential public health responsibilities,” said ASTHO President and Arkansas state health official Paul K. Halverson, DrPH, MHSA, FACHE.
“We were disappointed that funding released earlier this month to support the primary care workforce, did not provide relief for struggling public health agencies,” said ASTHO Executive Director Paul E. Jarris, MD, MBA. “We’ve lost over 15 percent of our public health workers in the last few years and we are rapidly approaching a state of crisis. This shortage, exacerbated by the current economic downturn, threatens the ability of public health departments to respond to major health threats and maintain essential public health responsibilities.”
ASTHO’s position statement on public health workforce development strongly enforced the need for “sustained funding from Congress, federal government agencies and state legislatures to address the public health workforce crisis.”
Since 2003, ASTHO has reported on growing professional worker shortages in public health nursing, epidemiology, environmental health, and laboratories - with public health physician shortages a rising concern. Two major factors driving the state public heath workforce shortage are budget cuts and the inability of public health agencies to provide competitive salaries.
We look forward to working with you to implement the Affordable Care Act in a way that transforms our healthcare system to one focused on wellness and prevention.
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Contact: Paula Steib 571-527-3173; psteib@astho.org
ASTHO is the national non-profit organization representing the chief public health officials of the United States, the U.S. territories, Freely Associated States, and the District of Columbia, as well as the 120,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice. As public health leaders, we applaud the historic commitment made to prevention in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.