Archives: Press Releases

Press Release on health-related topics.

Millennial Generation Deaths Due to Drug Misuse up 400 percent since 1999; Deaths from Drugs and Suicide at All-time Highs

New issue brief provides solutions for stopping deaths of despair among Millennials

(Washington, DC and Oakland, California June 13, 2019 ) – Young adult deaths due to alcohol and drug misuse and suicide have increased precipitously among 18- to 34-year-olds during the last two decades, including a 400 percent increase in drug-related deaths, fueled in large part by the opioid crisis, according to a new issue brief released today by Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust.

The report, which analyzed CDC data, found that between 1999 and 2017, opioid overdose death rates among Millennials increased by more than 500 percent. During the same period, synthetic opioid death rates increased by a staggering 6,000 percent.  The age group’s overall increase in drug deaths between 1999 and 2017 was 400 percent.

During the past decade (2007 – 2017), among people 18-34, alcohol-induced deaths increased by 69 percent, drug induced deaths increased by 108 percent and suicide deaths increased by 35 percent.

And, from 2016-2017, for 18- to 34-year-olds, drug-induced deaths increased 10 percent and suicide deaths were up 7 percent.  Alcohol-induced deaths for the year were down by 4 percent but as noted above are up sharply for the decade.

“The huge increases in the numbers of Millennials being lost to substance misuse and suicide is a national tragedy,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “As a nation, we need to pay particular attention to the lived experience of the Millennial generation.  They are young parents, many have burdensome levels of educational debt, they are more than one-third of today’s workforce and comprise the largest proportion of Americans serving in the military. Unfortunately, they also comprise the largest portion of people in prison.  They are grappling with economic, health and social challenges unique to their generation.  There is a critical need for targeted programs that address Millennials’ health, well-being and economic opportunity.”

The issue brief focuses on five issues areas that must be considered in any efforts to stem the tide of deaths of despair among young adults, they are the need to: 1) prioritize childhood risk and protective factors and emphasize prevention in the developmental years in order to put today’s children on a pathway that will allow them to become thriving adults, 2) ensure access to mental health and substance misuse treatment services, 3) address health inequities, 4) recognize the multigenerational impact of alcohol and drug misuse and suicide and 5) improve substance use disorders treatment within the criminal justice system.

The Millennial generation, typically defined as people born between 1981 and 1996 are today 23 to 38 years of age.  Millennials continue to face a mix of challenges unique to their generation including the exploding costs of education and housing and beginning and growing their careers during the great recession and the opioid crisis.  Another critical element of the issue brief’s focus on Millennials is the fact that many are parents of young children and their alcohol or drug misuse or poor mental health often has serious impacts on multiple generations of their family.

“There’s not a segment of the population that isn’t experiencing loneliness and despair,” said Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, chief strategy officer, Well Being Trust. “We must address issues that matter– tackling the obstacles that prevent people from having a healthy and fulfilling life and upholding our responsibility to improve the health and well-being of our communities. No place is this more apparent than with Millennials—those who have and are about to have families of their own. If we fail Millennials, we’re failing the next generation and we’ll not break this cycle of despair.”

According to the issue brief, new and specific interventions aimed at reducing these deaths of despair amongst young adults are critically needed, notably including these 10:

  1. Ensuring behavioral healthcare, including screenings, are a routine part of primary care and that everyone has access to such care. Care must be culturally competent.
  2. Barriers to treatment like the lack of providers in rural areas or the need for more residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women should be addressed by growing the Federal Behavioral Workforce Education Program, greater use of telemedicine and increasing student loan repayment programs for practitioners working in underserved areas.
  3. Behavioral health screening and referral services should be readily available at all colleges, universities, technical training facilities and reproductive health clinics.
  4. Health insurance and Medicaid coverage for medication-based treatments for substance misuse disorders should be increased.
  5. Wider implementation of suicide prevention programs, such as the Zero Suicide Initiative, is needed throughout the healthcare system. All hospitals should ensure that any patient in crisis is connected with behavioral health services in a timely manner.
  6. States and localities should use pricing strategies to limit the consumption of alcohol by adolescents and young adults.
  7. Federal and state governments should prioritize the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act to support prevention services for families in crisis and to reduce foster care placements.
  8. Hospitals and birthing centers should screen new mothers for substance misuse disorders at delivery.
  9. Drug and mental health courts should be created in all states and federal districts. When appropriate, people with substance misuse disorders should receive mandatory treatment as part of their incarceration and be connected to in-community treatment services upon their release.
  10. Transition programs to assist veterans returning to civilian life should be readily available.

The Trust for America’s Health/Well Being Trust Pain in the Nation publication series was launched in 2017 and examines substance misuse and suicide trends and evidence-based policies and programs in an effort to promote a comprehensive approach to solving the nation’s deaths of despair crisis.  The issue brief series is designed to focus attention on the need for a national resilience strategy.

# # #

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. Twitter: @healthyamerica1

Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community well-being. www.wellbeingtrust.org. Twitter: @WellBeingTrust

 

 

,

TFAH Applauds Passage of Critical Preparedness Legislation

Adopting the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act Supports the  Nation’s Health Security

(Washington, DC) – John Auerbach, president and CEO, of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) today made the following statement regarding the congressional passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation (PAHPAI) Act.

“Trust for America’s Health applauds Congress for working in a bipartisan manner to pass important legislation to advance our nation’s health security. The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act shows that we are learning the lessons from recent disasters and disease outbreaks and addressing ongoing challenges. Passage of this legislation, was a top recommendation in TFAH’s recent report, Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.

During the Zika outbreak, it took about nine months to approve emergency supplemental funding. And recent severe weather showed that we are still not prepared for a worst-case scenario event. In this legislation, lawmakers try to address some of the gaps that these events exposed. The bill makes it easier to get money out more efficiently to address a public health emergency. It codifies the roles of federal agencies in managing important preparedness programs and ensures we are consistently improving the performance of awardees. It supports outbreak detection through workforce and strategy enhancements. It reauthorizes programs for research, development and stockpiling of medical countermeasures and seeks to speed the capability to deploy those products.

Public health and health care are at the frontlines in responding to health crises large and small.  The fact that Congress passed this bill is acknowledgement that health security is national security.

Now, we call on Congress to give this legislation the teeth it needs by providing adequate funding for these critical public health programs.”

# # #

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.  www.tfah.org. Twitter: @healthyamerica1

 

Assisting States in Considering Evidence-Based and Promising Policies to Advance Health, Well-being, and Opportunity

Journal of Public Health Management & Practice
by Adam Lustig, MS and Marilyn Cabrera, MPH
July /August 2019

Public health professional across the country face numerous challenges on a day-to-day basis. To identify and implement evidence-based programs, they often have to capture the attention of their busy elected or appointed supervisors and convince them of the value of their work during their term, the public health professional may be in a bind. Research has shown that investments in public health spending can be attributed to drops in mortality rates; however, these results often take years or even decades to materialize.

Read the full article (subscription required)

TFAH President and CEO Testifies Before the House Energy & Commerce Committee on the Importance of Investing in the Nation’s Public Health

May 22, 2019

“Investing in the nation’s health means we are investing in the future.” – John Auerbach, TFAH President and CEO.

John Auerbach, President, and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday on the need for greater investments in the nation’s public health infrastructure through provisions in the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America (LIFT America Act). Mr. Auerbach’s testimony focused on the need for increased funding of critical public health programs through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state, local, Tribal and territorial health departments, and community partners. Funding in these areas is vital to ensuring that the tools needed to prevent and respond to major public health threats are available throughout the nation.

Increased public health funding is needed to meet the mounting challenges the nation faces, according to Auerbach.  “Public health is starving for a real, transformative investment to bring it into the 21st century and face the nation’s growing challenges.”

Auerbach highlighted the importance of a public health infrastructure and shared two points that are critical to the committee achieving its legislative goals:

  • Congress must raise the budget caps. CDC and public health face dire cuts if there is not a budget agreement this year that raises budget caps for defense and nondefense discretionary programs in parity with each other.
  • Congress must appropriate funding for the programs authorized in the legislation.  All too often, we see a pattern of funding cuts, followed by a disaster or outbreak, which then leads to an influx of one-time money, followed by an erosion of funds. Public health cannot function with short-term, expiring dollars, only made available during a crisis. Sustained public health funding is essential to ensuring that the country has the public health workforce, systems and infrastructure necessary to protect the nation’s health.

Learn more about the state of public health funding and TFAH’s recommendations for addressing it in our recently released The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health System report.

 

Welcome to Age-Friendly Florida

Herald Tribune
by Katie Black
May 12, 2019

Florida joined the global age-friendly network last month. The designation is particularly relevant to Florida, whose residents are getting older: One out of five are 65 or older; nearly 2 million are 75-plus; centenarians represent the state’s fastest growing demographic subgroup.

How is Age-Friendly Florida poised to better meet the needs and preferences of our aging citizens and promote their well-being?

The age-friendly model aims to enhance active aging and optimize full participation in community life for all Floridians. This requires adopting an “age lens” in all programs, policies and services and recognizing the diversity created by longevity.

Read the full article

President’s Budget Would Hinder US Public Health Progress: Huge Cuts Proposed

The Nation’s Health
Kim Krisberg
May 2019

White House budget proposals are often more vision than reality. But they offer revealing insights into an administration’s values and priorities. Unfortunately, in the case of President Donald Trump’s new budget plan, many of those priorities are out of step with public health, proposing significant cuts to vital programs and agencies.

“In a time where life expectancy is falling, our leadership should be investing in better health, not cutting federal health budgets,” said APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, in a news release. “This budget, put simply, kicks the can of worsening American health down the road.”

Read the full article 

Pharma Pushes Lawmakers to Reward Antibiotic Developers

April 29, 2019
National Journal

Antibiotic resistance has made common illnesses more difficult to treat and threatens to become a deadly killer in the decades to come. But even with this growing threat of “superbugs,” pharmaceutical companies have struggled financially to maintain research and development into new antibiotic treatments.

Public-health experts and drug companies are now calling on Congress to enact policies that would help manufacturers overcome financial hurdles to developing and marketing new antimicrobial products.

A United Nations report released Monday recommended intensifying the support for research and development of new antimicrobials. “Alarming levels of resistance” have been seen in countries of all income levels, and common diseases are “becoming untreatable,” according to the study.

View the full story (site requires registration)

Trust for America’s Health Applauds Proposed Increases to Public Health Spending in House Appropriations Bill

May 1, 2019

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the House Appropriations Committee and Chairwomen Nita Lowey and Rosa DeLauro for the draft FY2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) spending bill, which would increase funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many programs that address the nation’s leading health threats.

Last week, TFAH released a report:  The Impact of Chronic Underfunding of America’s Public Health System, which found that chronic underfunding of the nation’s public health system puts lives at risk. A list of TFAH’s top FY20 funding priorities can be found here.

TFAH’s President and CEO, John Auerbach, said:

“We are grateful to the leadership and staff of the Appropriations Committee and the Labor-HHS Subcommittee for demonstrating a substantive commitment to public health and prevention with the proposed funding levels.  Public health  officials are addressing an unprecedented range of health crises – the substance misuse and suicide epidemics, chronic diseases that contribute to rising healthcare costs and disability, public health emergencies and outbreaks – yet they are doing so with stagnant funding and outdated systems. The proposed bill would invest in public health infrastructure and proven programs that prevent illness and injury and improve emergency preparedness.

Public health doesn’t always get the headlines. But we have public health to thank for the safety and health of our communities.  This bill only represents the first step in modernizing our public health system and we stand ready to work with Congress see this through.

We urge the Senate to prioritize public health with the same urgency and thoughtfulness the House has shown and we encourage both House and Senate leadership to work with the President to raise the budget caps so public health can tackle the nation’s urgent health challenges.“

###

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. 

New TFAH Report: Persistent Underfunding of America’s Public Health System Makes the Nation Vulnerable and Puts Lives at Risk

Funding for public health programs via the CDC budget decreased by 10 percent over the last decade while public health risks grew

(Washington DC – April 24, 2019) – Chronic underfunding of the nation’s public health infrastructure has left the nation vulnerable to serious health and safety risks, according to a new report released today by Trust for America’s Health.

The report, The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health System: Trends, Risks, and Recommendations, 2019, examines federal, state, and local public health funding trends and recommends needed investments and policy actions to prioritize prevention and effectively address 21st century health threats.

The federal government, primarily through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides critical support for the nation’s public health infrastructure including by funding a substantial portion of state and local public health programs.  But, between Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 – Fiscal Year 2019, the CDC’s budget fell by 10 percent when adjusted for inflation.   Cuts to the CDC budget have direct impacts on state and local public health departments’ budgets. In 2018, 17 states and the District of Columbia cut their public health spending.

“Our country is grappling with unprecedented public health problems including the opioid crisis, the increasing number of Americans with chronic diseases, virulent infectious diseases and a growing number of weather-related emergencies,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.  “The CDC budget is simply not sufficient to address these demands.”

“At a time when the country’s health security threats are increasing, reducing spending to prevent and respond to these risks is dangerous and makes Americans less safe,” Auerbach said.

“CDC funding represents the majority of public health funding nationally and locally.  When CDC funding is cut, state and local governments are often forced to reduce funding for critical programs including those to prevent chronic and infectious diseases, to protect environmental health and to provide vaccinations for children, among many others.  These are programs Americans need and support.  They shouldn’t be constantly on the chopping-block,” Auerbach said.

Among the Report’s Key Findings Are:

  • Over the past decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s program funding—more than half of which goes to states, localities, and other nonfederal partners—decreased by 10 percent, after adjusting for inflation. At the same time, substance misuse has skyrocketed, the incidence of obesity and related health problems continue to climb, and the threat of weather-related emergencies is on the rise.
  • Federal funding cuts negatively affect state health departments as these funds are a primary source of state public health budgets. On average, federal funding comprises 48 percent of state public health budgets. Similarly, these spending cuts have serious consequences for local health departments given that federal and state allocations constitute a substantial portion of local health departments’ budgets.
  • Seventeen states and the District of Columbia cut their public health funding in FY 2018.
  • One-fifth of local health departments reported decreases in their FY 2017 budgets.
  • Multiple years of funding cuts contributed to more than 55,000 lost jobs at local health departments from 2008-17. These cuts undermine efforts to hire, train, and retain a strong public health workforce, which in turn limits governments’ ability to effectively protect and promote the health of their residents.
  • Cuts to public health funding often result in higher health care costs as preventable illnesses and injuries are major causes of hospitalization and other medical interventions.

The Report’s Topline Recommendations Include:

  • Increase federal investments in public health. To protect the health and safety of all the country’s residents we need more funding for public health programs, not less.
  • Provide sufficient, full-year funding for federal agencies to avoid interruptions in funding for critical health security programs.
  • Increase state and local investment in public health, prioritizing prevention and the social determinants of health.
  • Work across sectors to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public health investments.
  • Ease coordination of funding from multiple sources.

# # #

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

Nearly 70 Organizations Call on Congress to Advance the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness & Advancing Innovation Act

March 22, 2019

The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader U.S. Senate
The Honorable Charles Schumer Minority Leader U.S. Senate
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Minority Leader U.S. House of Representatives

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing public health, healthcare providers, emergency managers, environmental health, biotechnology innovators, and researchers, we are again writing to encourage you to advance the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness & Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAI, H.R. 269), which overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in January. A similar version passed the Senate Health Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee last year. The HELP and Energy & Commerce Committees have made tremendous, bipartisan progress on this important legislation, and it would be a setback for our national health security to further delay reauthorization. The disaster relief package being considered by Congress would be a logical vehicle for PAHPAI.

The recent wildfires, hurricanes and measles outbreaks have demonstrated that all sectors – public health, healthcare and private sector – play a critical role in saving lives during disasters and outbreaks. PAHPA is the backbone of our nation’s health security, providing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with authorities for preparing the healthcare and public health systems for disasters and strengthening the medical countermeasures enterprise. The legislation addresses gaps we have seen in recent responses, such as the speed of funding for public health emergencies, development and deployment of medical countermeasures for significant threats and preparedness for children in disasters.

The time is now to move this legislation. We are particularly concerned that several authorities have expired as of 2018, including temporary reassignment of state and local personnel, the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, limited antitrust exemption and other provisions critical to HHS contracting. We believe that time is of the essence in reauthorizing these important authorities.

We commend the work of the committed Senators, Representatives and their staff who have devoted considerable thought to this legislation. Our organizations are committed to our nation’s health security, and we remain ready to assist in order to see this legislation enacted into law as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

AABB (formerly known as American Association of Blood Banks)
AFSCME
Alliance for Biosecurity
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Poison Control Centers
American Association on Health and Disability
American Hospital Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Microbiology
America’s Blood Centers
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Barnesville Hospital
Berger Health System
Big Cities Health Coalition
Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
California Life Sciences Association
Central Ohio Trauma System
Child Care Aware of America
Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc. (COA)
Coshocton Regional Medical Center
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Entomological Society of America
Fayette County Memorial Hospital
Federation of American Hospitals
Future of Life Institute
Genesis Community Ambulance
Global Health Technologies Coalition
Health Industry Distributors Association
Health Resources in Action
Healthcare Distribution Alliance
Healthcare Leadership Council
Healthcare Ready
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio
Infectious Diseases Society of America
International Association of Emergency Managers
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Louisiana Public Health Institute
March of Dimes
Mount Carmel Health System
National Association of Counties
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Federal Veterinarians
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University
National Emergency Management Association National Network of Public Health Institutes
NEHA
Oklahoma City-County Health Department
One Health Commission
One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Team
Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State
The Antimicrobials Working Group (Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Cidara Therapeutics Inc., ContraFect Corporation, Entasis Therapeutics Inc., Iterum Therapeutics Ltd., Melinta Therapeutics Inc., Motif Bio plc, Nabriva Therapeutics US Inc., Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., Qpex Biopharma Inc., SCYNEXIS Inc., Summit Therapeutics plc andVenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Trauma Center Association of America
Trust for America’s Health
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals
Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association