HHS announces $250M investment to promote public health and wellness

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $250 million in Affordable Care Act investments to support prevention activities and develop the nation’s public health infrastructure.

“Investing in prevention and public health builds the foundation for improving the health and well-being of Americans and for lowering costs in the healthcare system,” said Sebelius. “Investing in proven preventive services will help patients get the care they need early, avoiding costly and unnecessary care later. This prevention-focused approach is better for doctors, patients and our national balance sheet.”

The investments are the second allocation for fiscal year 2010 from the $500 million prevention and public health fund created by the Affordable Care Act.

According to studies, chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are responsible for seven out of 10 deaths each year and account for 75 percent of the nation’s health spending. Many Americans engage in harmful behaviors such as tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity and alcohol abuse.

The funding breaks down as follows:

• $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.
• $70 million will support state, local and tribal public health infrastructures and build state and local capacity to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
• $31 million will be spent on data collection and analysis, strengthening the Centers for Diease Control's  Community Guide by supporting the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, and improving transparency and public involvement in the Clinical Preventive Services Task Force.
• $23 million will help expand the CDC’s public health workforce programs and public health training centers.

“With these investments, we are tackling the underlying causes of chronic diseases as well as strengthening our ability to meet the public health challenges of the 21st Century,” said Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. “This moves America in the direction of becoming a fit and healthy nation.”

The first round of funding, announced last week, will increase the number of clinicians and strengthen the primary care workforce. It will support the training and development of more than 16,000 new primary care providers over the next five years.