HHS SAYS $212 MILLION WILL BE GOING TO PREVENT CHRONIC DISEASES

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

September 25, 2014

HHS announces nearly $212 million in grants to prevent chronic diseases
Funded in part by the Affordable Care Act, grants focus on preventing tobacco use, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell today announced nearly $212 million in grant awards to all 50 states and the District of Columbia to support programs aimed at preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  Funded in part by the Affordable Care Act, the awards will strengthen state and local programs aimed at fighting these chronic diseases, which are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, and help lower our nation’s health care costs.

A total of 193 awards are being made  to states, large and small cities and counties, tribes and tribal organizations, and national and community organizations, with a special focus on populations hardest hit by chronic diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will administer the grants.

“These grants will empower our partners to provide the tools that Americans need to help prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes,” said Secretary Burwell. “Today’s news is important progress in our work to transition from a health care system focused on treating the sick to one that also helps keep people well throughout their lives.”

The goals of the grant funding are to reduce rates of death and disability due to tobacco use, reduce obesity prevalence, and reduce rates of death and disability due to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

“Tobacco use, high blood pressure, and obesity are leading preventable causes of death in the United States,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “These grants will enable state and local health departments, national and community organizations, and other partners from all sectors of society to help us prevent heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other leading chronic diseases, and help Americans to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.”

This is one of many ways the Affordable Care Act is improving access to preventive care, and coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Under the Affordable Care Act, 76 million Americans in private health insurance have gained access to preventive care services without cost-sharing and issuers can no longer deny coverage to anyone because of a pre-existing condition.

Chronic diseases are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths among Americans each year, and they account for more than 80 percent of the $2.7 trillion our nation spends annually on medical care.

HHS VIDEO: TOBACCO USE EPIDEMIC IN THE U.S.: IS 50 YEARS OF PROGRESS ENOUGH?

MILLIONS OF U.S. CHILDREN NOT RECEIVING PREVENTIVE CARE SERVICES

FROM:  CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

Millions of children not getting recommended preventive care

Millions of infants, children and adolescents in the United States did not receive key clinical preventive services, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Supplement.

Clinical preventive services are various forms of important medical or dental care that support healthy development. They are delivered by doctors, dentists, nurses and allied health providers in clinical settings. These services prevent and detect conditions and diseases in their earlier, more treatable stages, significantly reducing the risk of illness, disability, early death, and expensive medical care.
The CDC report focuses on 11 clinical preventive services: prenatal breastfeeding counseling, newborn hearing  screening and follow-up, developmental screening, lead screening, vision screening, hypertension screening, use of dental care and preventive dental services, human papillomavirus vaccination, tobacco use screening and cessation assistance, chlamydia screening and reproductive health services.

The findings offer a baseline assessment of the use of selected services prior to 2012, before or shortly after implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Sample findings include:

In 2007, parents of almost eight in 10 (79 percent) children aged 10-47 months reported that they were not asked by healthcare providers to complete a formal screen for developmental delays in the past year.

In 2009, more than half (56 percent) of children and adolescents did not visit the dentist in the past year and nearly nine of 10 (86 percent) children and adolescents did not receive a dental sealant or a topical fluoride application in the past year.
Nearly half (47 percent) of females aged 13-17 years had not received their recommended first dose of HPV vaccine in 2011.

Approximately one in three (31 percent) outpatient clinic visits made by 11-21 year-olds during 2004–2010 had no documentation of tobacco use status; eight of 10 (80 percent) of those who screened positive for tobacco use did not receive any cessation assistance.

Approximately one in four (24 percent) outpatient clinic visits for preventive care made by 3-17 year olds during 2009-2010 had no documentation of blood pressure measurement.

“We must protect the health of all children and ensure that they receive recommended screenings and services. Together, parents and the public health and healthcare communities can work to ensure that children have health insurance and receive vital preventive services,” said Stuart K. Shapira, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and associate director for science in CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Increased use of clinical preventive services could improve the health of infants, children and teens and promote healthy lifestyles that will enable them to achieve their full potential.”
The report reveals large disparities in the receipt of clinical preventive services. For example, uninsured children are not as likely as insured children to receive these services and Hispanic children were less likely than non-Hispanic children to have reported vision screening.

The Affordable Care Act expands insurance coverage, access and consumer protections for the U.S. population and places a greater emphasis on prevention. Through implementation of the Affordable Care Act, new opportunities exist to promote and increase use of these valuable and vital services. This report is the second of a series of periodic reports from CDC to monitor and report on progress made in increasing the use of clinical preventive services to improve population health.

“The Affordable Care Act requires new health insurance plans to provide certain clinical preventive services at no additional cost – with no copays or deductibles," said Lorraine Yeung, M.D., M.P.H., medical epidemiologist with CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Parents need to know that many clinical preventive services for their children, such as screening and vaccination, are available for free with many health plans.”
CDC has a long history of monitoring the use of clinical preventive services to provide public health agencies, health care providers, healthcare organizations and their partners with information needed to plan and implement programs that increase use of these services and improve the health of the U.S. population. CDC documents the potential benefits of selected clinical preventive services for infants, children and adolescents; the challenges related to their underuse; and effective collaborative strategies to improve use.

CDC is the nation's health protection agency, working 24/7 to protect America from health and safety threats, both foreign and domestic. CDC increases the health security of our nation.

HHS SAYS U.S. POPULATION GETTING HEALTHIER

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

HHS announces progress in disease prevention and health promotion

The nation’s health is improving in more than half of the critical measures that are known to have major influence in reducing preventable disease and death, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Healthy People 2020 represents the nation’s current 10-year goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention. Twenty-six specific measures—in categories such as access to care, maternal and child health, tobacco use, nutrition and physical activity—were identified as high-priority health issues. These Leading Health Indicators (LHI), if addressed appropriately, have the potential to significantly reduce major influences or threats on the public’s health that cause illness and death.

“The Leading Health Indicators are intended to motivate action to improve the health of the whole population. Today’s LHI Progress Report shows that we are doing just that,” says Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health. Koh also notes that with the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we can expect to see more improvements across these indicators.

There are 14 health indicators that have either been met or are improving in this first third of the decade, including:

Fewer adults smoking cigarettes;
Fewer children exposed to secondhand smoke;
More adults meeting physical activity targets; and
Fewer adolescents using alcohol or illicit drugs.
While progress has been made across several indicators, the LHI Progress Report highlights areas where further work is needed to improve the health of all Americans. There are 11 Leading Health Indicators that have not shown significant improvement at this point in the decade, and 1 indicator where only baseline data are available.