WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) urged Senate leaders to continue funding the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) at current levels. The letter comes as the Congress discusses a plan to continue funding the government that threatens to cut $6.35 billion in funding from the PPHF.

“Prevention remains one of the key means by which our nation can combat public health outbreaks and emergencies,” Senator King wrote in the letter. “Prevention is also very cost effective – while the nation at large spends $3 trillion annually on health care, less than 3 percent of this amount is dedicated to prevention and public health. The federal government plays a critical role in managing public health. Prevention and public health efforts are particularly critical for states like Maine with a substantial rural component.”

The Prevention and Public Health Fund, created as part of the Affordable Care Act, represents the nation’s largest investment in prevention initiatives and is used to fund critical public health programs – including childhood immunizations, smoking cessation, and lead poisoning prevention – in every state. Maine has also received block grants, allowing the state to pursue innovative approaches to unique local health problems.

Since 2010, Maine has received $39 million in funding from the PPHF, including nearly $5 million in FY 2017. Under the original proposal to fund the government, the state stands to lose $14.8 million over the next five years, more than half of the previously budged amount. 

The text of the letter, which was sent to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) can be found HERE and below.

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December 20, 2017

The Honorable Mitch McConnell                    The Honorable Chuck Schumer

Majority Leader                                               Minority Leader

United States Senate                                        United States Senate

Washington DC 20510                                    Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Orrin Hatch                             The Honorable Ron Wyden

Chair, Senate Finance Committee                    Ranking Member, Senate Finance Committee

United States Senate                                        United States Senate

Washington DC 20510                                    Washington DC 20510

Dear Senators McConnell, Schumer, Hatch, and Wyden,

I write to express serious concern about H.J.Res. 124, the continuing resolution and Children’s Health Insurance Program authorization extension, which executes drastic cuts to the Prevention and Public Health Fund, to a total of $6.35 billion. As the Senate works to fund the government and reauthorize a critical guarantor of child health, I encourage you to avoid further cutting the PPHF from current levels.

Prevention remains one of the key means by which our nation can combat public health outbreaks and emergencies. Prevention is also very cost effective—while the nation at large spends $3 trillion annually on health care, less than 3 percent of this amount is dedicated to prevention and public health. The federal government plays a critical role in managing the public health.

Prevention and public health efforts are particularly crucial for states like Maine with a substantial rural component. Research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that rural areas of the United States bear higher rates of all manner of conditions, from higher infant mortality to greater rates of death from heart disease, cancer, lower respiratory diseases, and stroke. In many cases, the costs to treat preventable conditions that advance to chronic disease are 7 (or more) times those of preventive measures.

Maine has received $39 million from the PPHF since 2010, and these funds have gone to support evidence-based community prevention activities specifically tailored to meet local needs and preferences. For example, in FY 16 alone:

• Maine received approximately $75,000 for tobacco use prevention. This money was then used to air the CDC’s Tips from Smokers campaign, yielding a 443 percent increase to 1-800-QUIT-NOW in the first week alone.
• Maine received $1.2 million in grants for the Maine CDC to help program and coordinate four CDC programs (diabetes; heart disease and stroke; nutrition, physical activity, and obesity; and school health) that work to prevent chronic diseases by addressing common risk factors, particularly among youth and critical populations.
• The Epidemiology and Lab Capacity Grants provided Maine with $641,429 to support the ability of local health departments to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
• The state Department of Health and Human Services received $1.68 million to improve access to vaccines, both to children and adults.
• The Preventive Health and Health Service block grant provided Maine with $1.56 million, allowing Maine to address its own unique public health challenges in innovative and locally determined fashion.

Under the terms of H.J.Res. 124, Maine stands to lose $14.8 million over the next five years, a cut of more than half the amount previously budgeted. This will severely hamper efforts to provide for Mainers’ public health and wellbeing.

There is an old saying that used to be more common than it is now: “Let’s not be penny-wise and pound-foolish.” When it comes to the health of Mainers and, indeed, all Americans, being penny “wise” on prevention will result only in dollar-foolish spending of several times more money to treat the more serious resulting conditions.