Regional Boards of Health unite to call for national health care reform in 2009

August 11, 2009

Summary

Letter to Congressional delegation supports Prevention and Public Health Investment Fund and decries “theatrical tactics” of opponents

Story

  
All people should have affordable access to quality health care in a system that emphasizes prevention and wellness, local health officials from across Washington state said today as they urged Congress to implement comprehensive health care reform in 2009 that includes a reliable source of funding for disease prevention, food safety, and other public health activities.

Leaders from local Boards of Health in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, Thurston and Clark counties joined in signing a letter to the Washington state Congressional delegation that calls the status quo unacceptable in terms of dollars and poor health, and urges members “not to be deterred by the theatrical tactics of those who oppose reform.”

“Federal health reform is essential for local Boards of Health to ensure their ability to protect and promote community well-being,” said Julia Patterson, Metropolitan King County Councilmember and chair of the King County Board of Health. “Lawmakers must move ahead promptly with health reform and include a funding strategy that preserves critical public health programs in order to protect the health of the greater community.”

Legislation in the House and Senate currently directs the federal government to develop a National Prevention and Wellness Strategy that would set specific goals for prevention and wellness, identify health disparities, and establish national priorities for prevention research. The Senate bill includes a Prevention and Public Health Investment Fund with up to $10 billion for support of public health activities that are beyond the capacity of the health insurance and medical care systems.

“The United States spends more on health care than any nation, but we’re among the unhealthiest developed nations in the world,” said Steve Bauer, chair of the Kitsap County Board of Health. “Our system is no longer sustainable from an economic standpoint, or as a means to protect public health.”

“It is our continued hope that health reform at the federal level will be enacted this year so that access to medical, dental, and mental health care is improved for everyone,” said Sandra Romero, chair of the Thurston County Board of Health.

In Washington state, more than 780,000 people are without health insurance, a number that has grown in recent years. A third of Washington residents have not had a colorectal cancer screening, and 19 percent of women have not had a mammogram in the past two years, according to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

“Preventing illness is a key public health role and should be included in healthcare reform,” said Rick Talbert, chair of the Tacoma/Pierce County Board of Health. “While physicians and the health care system are important partners, prevention requires community engagement and population-based health promotion, work that can only be done by public health.”

“Local health departments are the bedrock of a well-functioning health system,” said Marc Boldt, chair of the Clark County Board of Health. “Public health works to create conditions in the community that make it easier for people to make healthier choices in their diet and exercise. These science-based public health and prevention activities are beyond the capacity of the health insurance and medical care systems to provide. We look to Congress to create a health system for our nation that includes public health and that makes preventing disease and promoting wellness as important as treating disease."

“As Congress focuses on how the health care system serves the individual patient, we need to remember that those patients leave the doctor’s office and return to a community that can either support or sabotage the doctor’s best efforts,” said Dianne White, a member of the Snohomish County Board of Health. “We need to engage our communities and promote health every day and everywhere.”

The King County Board of Health and the Metropolitan King County Council recently adopted legislation calling on Congress to include a stable and reliable source of funding for public health infrastructure in any health care reform bill. The motions incorporate principles supported by the Boards of Health of the Puget Sound region and Clark County that advocate for health care reform that:

• Provides access to all people to health services that are comprehensive, high-quality, conveniently located, and affordable;
• Promotes health and prevents disease;
• Encourages diverse communities to be engaged in improving health outcomes; and
• Reduces disparities based upon race, income, geography or other external factors.

Seventy-five percent of the $2.2 trillion in annual health care costs in the U.S. is spent to treat chronic diseases, many of which could be prevented, and those chronic diseases cost the nation another
$1 trillion each year in lost productivity.

The timeline for drafting health care reform legislation is moving quickly for state and federal lawmakers. President Obama has asked Congress to deliver legislation to his desk by the end of the year.

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