The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has earmarked $250m for investment in the prevention of chronic diseases. The second part of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, announced last week by US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is designed to promote public health and wellness by developing the nation’s health infrastructure.
According to HHS, chronic diseases such as these are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths each year among Americans, and account for 75 percent of the nation’s health spending. The $250m investment under this new fund is designed to tackle some of the underlying causes of chronic disease. It will be channeled into initiatives on a federal, state and community level to help prevent obesity and improve fitness. It will also be used to support the existing public health infrastructure, to develop research and tracking and to expand public health training initiatives.
Earlier last week, Secretary Sebelius announced the allocation of the first half of the Prevention and Public Health fund to increase the number of clinicians and strengthen the primary care workforce. “With these investments and others, the Affordable Care Act is continuing the Obama Administration’s historic work to promote wellness and reduce chronic disease. The new law also calls for a national strategy to improve the nation’s health, eliminates co-pays for key preventive services like cancer screenings, and provides new support for employer wellness programs,” said HHS.
Bonnie - while this is a start, the "devil is in the details." How the money will be allocated has yet to be revealed. In addition, there needs to be a lot more than $250 million invested in prevention of chronic disease. But as i said, this is a start, which I could not say previously.
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