President Obama's 2011 Budget Proposal and what you can do.

On February 1, 2010 President Obama released the 2011 Budget Proposal outlining the Administration's funding highlights. Unfortunately, lung cancer is still not a priority, yet some other diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Americans with Autism Disorders are specifically called out. However, you will notice that there is a vague category called to Expand and Strengthen Prevention and Wellness Activities. This is where we (you and us) can make an impact. March is the time of year when Congress meets to appropriate these funds.

 

Expand and Strengthen Prevention and Wellness Activities

"The Budget bolsters core prevention activities by expanding community health activities, strengthening the public health workforce, and enhancing surveillance and health statistics to improve detection and monitoring of chronic disease and health outcomes. The Budget funds a new effort in up to 10 of the largest cities in the United States to reduce the rates of morbidity and disability due to chronic disease through effective policy and environmental change strategies. The Budget also supports a new health prevention workforce to improve capacity of State and local health departments."

Write your Congressman or Senator today with our template.

Click on the link here or see below for a summary of the Department of Health and Human Services 2011 Budget proposal:

Funding Highlights:

• Supports health insurance reform by expanding patient-centered health research to give patients and physicians the best available information on what treatments will work the best for them; supporting investments in health information technology; expanding prevention and wellness activities; and launching payment reform demonstration programs in Medicare.

• Adds $290 million for health centers to expand health care access to the medically underserved.

• Expands support for biomedical research, by providing an increase of $1 billion for the National Institutes of Health.

• Invests approximately $1.4 billion to strengthen food safety efforts and implement core principles of the President’s Food Safety Working Group.

• Supports over 8,500 health care professionals in medically underserved areas through the National Health Service Corps.

• Continues a commitment to invest in the Indian health system to eliminate health disparities by increasing access to health care services among American Indians and Alaska Natives.

• Invests in our Nation’s prevention and wellness activities to improve health outcomes and lower costs, through the Federal workforce, community-based and State and local efforts.

• Invests more than $3 billion for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities to expand access to affordable health care and prevention services.

• Includes $25.5 billion for a six-month extension of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA) temporary increase in the Federal Medicaid match.

• Improves preparedness by increasing funding for biodefense medical countermeasure development.

• Places a renewed emphasis on preventing, detecting, and recouping fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive payments in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

• Expands and strengthens early education and child care programs by extending the ARRA expansion of Head Start and Early Head Start, providing an increase of $1.6 billion for child care to serve 235,000 more children than could be served without the additional funds in 2011, and supporting work with the Congress to improve quality in the Child Care and Development Fund.

• Increases help for families caring for aging relatives at home.