Government Funds Prevention And Wellness Initiatives

On June 18, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of $250 million to support prevention and wellness activities, as well as to develop the nation’s public health infrastructure. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allocated $500 million in fiscal year 2010 for the Prevention and Public Health fund, and this $250 million is a part of that fund.

Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes, are responsible for seven out of ten deaths each year among Americans, and account for 75% of the nation’s health spending, the HHS noted. According to the HHS, the $250 million investment in prevention and public health will be allocated, as follows:

• Community and clinical prevention: $126 million will support federal, state and community prevention initiatives; the integration of primary care services into publicly funded community-based behavioral health settings; obesity prevention and fitness; and tobacco cessation.

• Public health infrastructure: $70 million will support state, local, and tribal public health infrastructure and build state and local capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

• Research and tracking: $31 million will support data collection and analysis; to strengthen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Community Guide by supporting the Task Force on Community Preventive Services; and to improve transparency and public involvement in the Clinical Preventive Services Task Force.

• Public health training: $23 million to expand CDC’s public health work force programs and public health training centers.

This is just the beginning...