Indiana ranked 49th in public health funding

Indiana ranked 49th for the amount of state money spent on public health in 2006-07. Indiana spent about $61,549,176 on public health, which is $9.70 per capita, while some states, such as Hawaii, spend more than $100 per capita. \n“Overall, Indiana is spending less and receiving less,” said Rich Hamburg, the director of government relations for Trust for America’s Health.\nWith low federal and state funding, many citizens are experiencing infrequent, more expensive care, Hamburg said. In many cases, local health departments have to rely on private funding from grants, instead of federal or state funding, he said. Chronic diseases such as heart disease are seeing their lowest funding in years, and sometimes they receive no funding at all. The lack of funding leads to understaffing in many health departments across the state of Indiana and the rest of the United States, creating even larger issues when it comes to quick and proper health care, Hamburg said.\nSeven out of 10 Americans who die every year lose their lives to a chronic disease, according to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, but historically less than 5 percent of budgets of state health departments have been geared toward preventing and controlling these diseases. \nThe Monroe County Department of Public Health is currently understaffed, which affects its ability to serve the local population, said Penny Caudill, interim administrator for the Monroe County Health Department. The Indiana average is 46 health professionals per 100,000 people, while in Monroe County there are only 18 per 120,000, Caudill said. While providing health care is becoming more expensive, budgets and grants are not increasing, she said.\nThe recently published report by Trust for America’s Health, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit group, showed that the Midwest ranks the lowest when it comes to funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with approximately $16 received per person in the region in fiscal year 2007. The per capita funding Indiana received amounted to $13.69, which puts the state second-to-last when compared to the rest of the nation. \nThe state of Indiana received no federal funds for serious medical ailments including heart disease and stroke in the 2007 fiscal year, Hamburg said. Indiana possibly received private funding, but not state or federal funding, he said.\nPreventing disease and serious medical ailments saves lives and money, Hamburg said. Eventually, he said, with increased federal and state medical funding, the state will need to provide less medical care and ultimately increase the return on its investment.\n“The Indiana State Department of Health has increased the amount of CDC funding awards from 64 to 80 percent of the national average,” said State Health Commissioner Judy Monroe in an e-mail. “We continue to work closely with federal, state and local partners to secure funding which will allow us to achieve our public health goals.”\nInadequately funded public health plays a big role in states’ high obesity and infectious disease rates, Hamburg said.\nIndiana has the ninth highest obesity rate and 14th highest diabetes rate, Hamburg said. Tobacco prevention receives some type of funding in all 50 states, and nutrition education and treatment are funded in only a small number of states. The system has for a long time shifted focus and funding elsewhere, not toward disease control, he said.