Letter to Senate on FY 2004 Appropriations



Home Members Board of Directors Testimony Correspondence Public Health Continuum Public Health 101: The leading Challenges for the U.S. in the Coming Decade	Correspondence Letter to Senate on FY 2004 Appropriations July 15, 2003 Dear Senator: The Coalition for Health Funding is extremely concerned about the inadequate funding proposed in the FY 2004 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill that will be considered by the Senate later this week, for programs vital to the health of the American people. Overall, the bill provides a less than inflationary increase for the programs of the Public Health Service under the jurisdiction of the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee at a time when the nation is faced with new and renewed threats to health, including: • New and re-emerging infectious diseases, such as SARS, West Nile virus, and Monkeypox; • Increased HIV infection rates among women, people of color, and young people in the U.S. population as well as still emerging chronic liver disease from Hepatitis C, and growing multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis; • Growing microbial resistance to drugs used to treat common infections; • Rapidly increasing numbers of individuals with chronic diseases such diabetes, asthma, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and cancer -- 7 of 10 Americans, or 1.7 million people -- die of chronic diseases each year and consume roughly 75 percent of all annual health care costs; • Persisting health disparities, for example, infant mortality rates for African Americans are twice that of the white population and Latinos are twice as likely to die from diabetes; • Growing shortages of pediatric dentists, pharmacists, medical laboratory personnel, allied health, nursing, and public health professionals throughout the country, for example, the latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published in November 2001, indicate more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2010; • 54 million Americans are living with disabilities; • 41 million Americans do not have health insurance. These challenges are occurring at a time when the continued need to elevate our national preparedness against the threat of biological, nuclear and chemical terrorism commands a greater share of limited resources for public health at the national, state, and local level. Indeed, the recent outbreak of SARS demonstrates how truly strained our public health system is, even after the increased funding post 9/11. Moreover, all of these demands on the nation’s health system are occurring as states face their greatest budget crisis since the end of World War II, eliminating the possibility that they can make up the shortfalls created by insufficient funding at the federal level. The Coalition for Health Funding has determined that the Public Health Service agencies in this bill need an additional $6 billion above what has been proposed by the Appropriations Committee to meet the health challenges that confront us. Recognizing that a healthy America is a strong America, the failure to support these programs adequately jeopardizes our health, our productivity, and our national security. Sincerely, AIDS Action Council Ambulatory Pediatric Association American Academy of Pediatrics American Association for Dental Research American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry American Association of Colleges of Nursing American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy American Association of Physician Assistants American College of Cardiology American College of Clinical Pharmacy American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American College of Physicians American College of Preventive Medicine American College of Rheumatology American Dental Association American Dental Education Association American Foundation for AIDS Research American Heart Association American Lung Association American Nurses Association American Pediatric Society American Psychological Association American Psychological Society American Public Health Association American Society for Microbiology American Society of Nephrology Association of American Medical Colleges Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs Association of Public Health Laboratories Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine Association of University Centers on Disabilities Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Developmental Disabilities Research Association March of Dimes NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals National Association of Children’s Hospitals National Association of County and City Health Officials National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association National Mental Health Association Society for Adolescent Medicine Society for Neuroscience Society for Pediatric Research
©2008 Coalition for Health Funding

Correspondence

Letter to Senate on FY 2004 Appropriations