Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
Dear Senator:
As you know, preventable chronic diseases account for 70 percent of all deaths and 75 percent of all health care spending.i,ii In 2005, almost half of all adults had at least one chronic illness including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer among others.
If current trends continue, by 2030 the United States could spend an additional $66 billion per year on treating obesity-related conditions alone. While 7 in 10 deaths are due to these preventable chronic conditions, in 2011 only about 3% of health care funding was dedicated to preventing them and 75% was spent on treating them.For every $1 spent through prevention programs to address physical activity, poor nutrition, and smoking cessation programs, the return on investment is $5.60.iii This means that if we invest $10 per person in the U.S., we can save about $16 billion per year.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund, established in 2010 by
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is the only dedicated funding for prevention and public health programs that act to
-Help to control the obesity epidemic,
-Respond to disease outbreaks,
-Train the nation's public health and health care workforce,
-Prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and
-Expand access to vaccines, among other things.
The Fund will provide an additional $13.5 billion over the next 10 years for these effective, proven prevention efforts. However, $332.5 million has already been diverted away from the Fund for non-prevention activities. Further cuts would be an enormous step backwards in our progress on cost-containment, public health modernization, and wellness promotion.
As health professions students and members of your constituency, we ask that you work to ensure that resources allocated for the Prevention and Public Health Fund are maintained for prevention programs and not diverted to non-prevention activities such as the health care exchange and navigator programs. While we strongly advocate for the continuation of these programs, shifting resources from the Prevention and Public Health Fund is not a viable long-term solution. Doing so would be detrimental to our nation - as the projected rise in health care costs associated with preventable chronic conditions are crippling resources, the economy, and the American people.
Protect the Fund. Prevent Disease. Promote Health.
Sincerely,
GW Colonials for Health
i. Kung HC, Hoyert DL, Xu JQ, Murphy SL. Deaths: final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports 2008;56(10). Available from:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_10.pdf
ii. Institute of Medicine (2012). For the Public’s Health: Investing in a Healthier Future. Washington, DC. Available from http://www.iom.edu/reports/2012/for-the-publics-health-investion-in-a-healthier-future.aspx.
iii. Trust for America’s Health. (February, 2009). Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in disease prevention yield significant savings, stronger communities. Retrieved on October 13, 2013 from http://healthyamericans.org/reports/prevention08/Prevention08.pdf.
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Updates
Reached 100 supporters
November 20, 2013
9 Comments
We must invest now in prevention and behavioral change programs, to prevent our youth and future generations from developing these debilitating conditions that affect far too many of us now.
We spend too much time and money treating conditions that could have been prevented by good health prevention and promotion.
we really need more funding for prevention. Diabetes cost increased to 245 billion in 2012 (174 billion in 2007), for each $1 that we invest on prevention , we save $5 in health care costs.
This is extremely important and critical to the work that we do as public health professionals.
This portion of the ACA is extremely important to continued success of public health programs. The funding should not be cut in any way for other ventures it was not designated for. The future of our nation is at risk and we need people and programs that are going to help stop the spread of disease, educate adults and our youth on ways to combat obesity, along with reducing the risks of other disease outbreaks. Preventable conditions are made that way through education to the public, lowering the funding only makes it less likely people will have the information necessary to for disease prevention.
Prevention matters!
By all means, we must preserve the funds for prevention of chronic diseases. Please support the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
Dear Senator:
As you know, preventable chronic diseases account for 70 percent of all deaths and 75 percent of all health care spending.i,ii In 2005, almost half of all adults had at least one chronic illness including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer among others.
If current trends continue, by 2030 the United States could spend an additional $66 billion per year on treating obesity-related conditions alone. While 7 in 10 deaths are due to these preventable chronic conditions, in 2011 only about 3% of health care funding was dedicated to preventing them and 75% was spent on treating them.For every $1 spent through prevention programs to address physical activity, poor nutrition, and smoking cessation programs, the return on investment is $5.60.iii This means that if we invest $10 per person in the U.S., we can save about $16 billion per year.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund, established in 2010 by
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is the only dedicated funding for prevention and public health programs that act to
-Help to control the obesity epidemic,
-Respond to disease outbreaks,
-Train the nation's public health and health care workforce,
-Prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and
-Expand access to vaccines, among other things.
The Fund will provide an additional $13.5 billion over the next 10 years for these effective, proven prevention efforts. However, $332.5 million has already been diverted away from the Fund for non-prevention activities. Further cuts would be an enormous step backwards in our progress on cost-containment, public health modernization, and wellness promotion.
As health professions students and members of your constituency, we ask that you work to ensure that resources allocated for the Prevention and Public Health Fund are maintained for prevention programs and not diverted to non-prevention activities such as the health care exchange and navigator programs. While we strongly advocate for the continuation of these programs, shifting resources from the Prevention and Public Health Fund is not a viable long-term solution. Doing so would be detrimental to our nation - as the projected rise in health care costs associated with preventable chronic conditions are crippling resources, the economy, and the American people.
Protect the Fund. Prevent Disease. Promote Health.
Sincerely,
GW Colonials for Health
i. Kung HC, Hoyert DL, Xu JQ, Murphy SL. Deaths: final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports 2008;56(10). Available from:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_10.pdf
ii. Institute of Medicine (2012). For the Public’s Health: Investing in a Healthier Future. Washington, DC. Available from http://www.iom.edu/reports/2012/for-the-publics-health-investion-in-a-healthier-future.aspx.
iii. Trust for America’s Health. (February, 2009). Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in disease prevention yield significant savings, stronger communities. Retrieved on October 13, 2013 from http://healthyamericans.org/reports/prevention08/Prevention08.pdf.
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
November 20, 2013
9 Comments
This is important and will save money in the long run. Let's be smart on this one.
We must invest now in prevention and behavioral change programs, to prevent our youth and future generations from developing these debilitating conditions that affect far too many of us now.
We spend too much time and money treating conditions that could have been prevented by good health prevention and promotion.
we really need more funding for prevention. Diabetes cost increased to 245 billion in 2012 (174 billion in 2007), for each $1 that we invest on prevention , we save $5 in health care costs.
This is extremely important and critical to the work that we do as public health professionals.
This portion of the ACA is extremely important to continued success of public health programs. The funding should not be cut in any way for other ventures it was not designated for. The future of our nation is at risk and we need people and programs that are going to help stop the spread of disease, educate adults and our youth on ways to combat obesity, along with reducing the risks of other disease outbreaks. Preventable conditions are made that way through education to the public, lowering the funding only makes it less likely people will have the information necessary to for disease prevention.
Prevention matters!
By all means, we must preserve the funds for prevention of chronic diseases. Please support the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
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This is important and will save money in the long run. Let's be smart on this one.