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Press Release on health-related topics.

Social Determinants Grab Spotlight in New Obesity Report

October 28, 2021
Michael Devitt
AAFP

As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate over 35%.

Today, 48 states have an adult obesity rate of 25% or higher, and in 16 states, the adult obesity rate is 35% or higher.

Those are just some of the findings from The State of Obesity 2021, an annual report from Trust for America’s Health. Published in September with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the 92-page report features a special section that examines the relationship between COVID-19, obesity and social determinants of health, which shows how the pandemic impacted longstanding racial and economic inequities that furthered the obesity crisis throughout the country, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. It also assesses the latest data on adult and childhood obesity rates, reviews current policies and programs, and outlines potential policy actions for federal, state and local agencies.

Read full article.

Trust for America’s Health Applauds COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Report

Addressing health inequities is critical to protecting everyone’s health and being prepared for future health public emergencies

(Washington, DC – November 10, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the report of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, including its recommendations to President Biden for mitigating the health inequities caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future. We furthermore commend the Biden Administration  for responding to the report’s call to action with new investments in initiatives to improve community and public health in traditionally under-resourced communities, including communities of color and among underserved populations.

In January of 2021, the Biden Administration created the Task Force, a multisector group of individuals with expertise and lived experience relevant to groups suffering disproportionate rates of illness and death from COVID-19, experts in fields such as public health, healthcare, behavioral health, and community-based services, as well as government officials. The Task Force represents diverse perspectives on how to address COVID-19 related health and social inequities and strengthen the nation’s public health response.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated longstanding systemic inequities in our nation,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.  “The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force has laid out a road map for reducing inequities during this pandemic and before the next public health emergency.  As the report acknowledges, we must engage in a multisector effort to address the upstream factors that contribute to underlying health inequities in order to promote optimal health and build resilience in all communities. TFAH looks forward to working with the administration on our shared goals.”

The Task Force’s report echoes many of TFAH’s policy recommendations. The following are policy priorities shared by the Task Force report and TFAH:

  • Fund the public health workforce and emergency response. The federal government should increase and sustain funding for equity-centered pandemic and public health emergency activities and infrastructure at the federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels. This should include building a workforce dedicated to public health emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and disaster-related behavioral health services and supporting communities with the greatest healthcare inequities.
  • Support equity-centered data collection. The federal government should fund an equity-centered approach to data collection, including ensuring sufficient funding to collect data for groups that are experiencing disproportionate impact during the pandemic and to understand the specific needs of currently underserved populations.
  • Fund data modernization for health settings. The federal government should provide funding for healthcare and public health to update data systems centered on equity and to ensure interoperability and automatic electronic lab reporting of a robust set of disaggregated, standardized socioeconomic and demographic data elements.
  • Strengthen multi-sector collaboration. The federal government should strengthen collaboration with a diverse array of community-based organizations and public health providers by providing robust and sustained funding to build capacity, provide technical assistance and establish partnerships with communities of color and other underserved populations.
  • Prioritize vaccine, testing, treatment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) access for underserved communities. Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments should prioritize vaccine distribution, testing, treatment, and PPE access to communities of color and other underserved populations, including those who face mobility, geographic, or other barriers to access.
  • Address the social determinants of health. The federal government should lead efforts to advance the social determinants of health including nutrition safety net programs for individuals and families who are food insecure and for those that have limited access to healthy food options.
  • Increase access to behavioral healthcare. Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments should increase investment in and access to comprehensive, equity-centered behavioral health services, including a focus on prevention.
  • Lead and coordinate implementation of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force’s recommendations from a permanent health equity infrastructure in the White House.

TFAH reports on emergency preparedness, public health funding, leveraging policy to improve Americans’ health and create health equity, and a legislative blueprint to transform the nation’s public health system, include additional recommendations that support the Task Force’s health equity goals.

States with High Obesity Rates Nearly Doubled in Two Years. Here’s Why

September 16, 2021
by Ken Alltucker
USA Today

The number of states with high obesity rates nearly doubled over two years as Americans grappled with pandemic stress, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. A total of 16 states had obesity rates of 35% or more in 2020, up from nine states in 2018. Just two decades ago, no state had an adult obesity rate above 25%.

Experts say the CDC figures, based on self-reported data of height and weight, represent an alarming trend because obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many types of cancer.

Read the full article.

 

 

New Data Show Sixteen States Have Adult Obesity Rates at 35 Percent or Higher Up From 12 States in 2019

Social and economic factors linked to obesity were exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic

(Washington, DC – September 15, 2021) – In 2020, 16 states had adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent, up from 12 states the previous year. These and other emerging data show that the COVID-19 pandemic changed eating habits, worsened levels of food insecurity, created obstacles to physical activity, and heightened stress, all exacerbating the decades long pattern of obesity in America.

State of Obesity 2021: Better Policies for a Healthier America, released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) is based in part on newly released 2020 data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System and analysis by TFAH. It provides an annual snapshot of rates of overweight and obesity by age, race/ethnicity and state of residence for U.S. adults. In the report, TFAH calls for addressing the social determinants of obesity, for example, by ensuring access to no cost healthy school meals for all students, a program started during the pandemic.

Obesity is associated with a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, sleep apnea, and many types of cancers. Obesity is estimated to increase healthcare spending by $149 billion annually (about half of which is paid for by Medicare and Medicaid). Furthermore, obesity is one of the underlying health conditions associated with the most serious consequences of COVID-19 infection, including higher risk of hospitalization and death.

Since the start of the pandemic, 42 percent of adults in the U.S. experienced weight gain, according to a Harris Poll conducted in February 2021. The average self-reported weight gain amongst U.S. adults was 29 pounds.

Sixteen states have adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent

Obesity rates vary considerably between states and regions of the country. In 2020, Mississippi had the highest adult obesity rate at 39.7 percent, followed by West Virginia at 39.1 percent and Alabama at 39 percent. Colorado had the lowest adult obesity rate nationally at 24.2 percent.

Nationally, 16 states now have adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent.  New to this list are Delaware, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas. The twelve states that continue to have adult rates above 35 percent are: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.  (See state rates chart).

As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate above 35 percent.

Systemic inequities and socioeconomic factors contribute to higher rates of obesity among certain racial and ethnic populations. According to the latest available national data – from the 2017 – 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Black adults had the highest level of adult obesity nationally at 49.6 percent; driven in large part by an adult obesity rate among Black women of 56.9 percent.  Hispanic adults have an obesity rate of 44.8 percent. White adults have an obesity rate of 42.2 percent. Asian adults have an obesity rate of 17.4 percent.

“The epidemic of obesity is an urgent problem in the U.S. and has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. What is needed are transformational policies and bold investment in programs that reduce health inequities and address the social and economic conditions that are barriers to access to affordable, healthy food and physical activity,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.

Rising obesity rates are also a problem among children and adolescents.  According to the 2017 – 2018 NHANES data nearly 20 percent (19.3 percent) of U.S. children ages 2 to 19 have obesity. These data more than tripled since the mid-1970s and Black and Latino youth have substantially higher rates of obesity than do their white peers.

Policies to Address the Obesity Crisis

Solving the nation’s obesity crisis will require increased investment and bold policy action. Recommendations within this report focus on two principles: 1) the need for multi-sector, multi-disciplinary approaches, and 2) an intentional focus on those population groups that experience a disproportionate risk for obesity.  Policymakers will not be able to reverse obesity trends without addressing the social, economic and environmental conditions at the root of the crisis.

The report includes policy recommendations – actions to be undertaken by federal, local and state government, the education sector, the healthcare sector and the food industry – including:

  • Increase funding for CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. This investment should include at least $125 million in FY2022 for CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity and $102.5 million in FY2022 for CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health to ensure sufficient and equitable funding for obesity prevention programs in all 50 states.
  • Make healthy school meals free for all students as a step to end child hunger and ensure access to healthy foods. Protect the recent expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and enhance access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
  • Close tax loopholes and eliminate business-cost deductions related to the advertising of unhealthy food and beverages to children.
  • Increase the price of sugary drinks through an excise tax, with tax revenue allocated to local efforts to reduce health and socioeconomic disparities and obesity prevention programs.
  • Ensure that every resident has safe and convenient access to walking and biking trails, and that all students have safe routes to walk or bike to school. State and local education agencies should prioritize physical activity during the school day.
  • Expand access to health insurance including through the extension of Medicaid and by making marketplace coverage more affordable. Insurance plans should cover all U.S. Preventive Services Task Force “A” or “B” recommendations for obesity prevention programs with no cost-sharing to the patient.

 Report: State of Obesity 2021: Better Policies for a Healthier America

 

 

Recientes Estudios Revelan que Dieciséis Estados Cuentan con un Índice más del 35% de Obesidad en Adultos, en comparación con la data registada en el 2019 que contaba con 12 Estados

Los factores sociales y económicos relacionados con la obesidad se vieron agravados por la pandemia de COVID-19.

(Washington, DC – 15 de septiembre del 2021) – En 2020, 16 estados tenían tasas de obesidad en adultos iguales o superiores al 35 por ciento, en comparación con 12 estados del año anterior. Estos y otros datos emergentes muestran que la pandemia del COVID-19 cambió los hábitos de alimentación, empeoró los niveles de inseguridad alimentaria, obstaculizó las oportunidad para la actividad física y aumentó el estrés,  lo cual fue agravando el patrón de obesidad que se ha visto por décadas en Estados Unidos.

Según el reporte State of Obesity 2021: Better Policies for a Healthier America, publicado hoy por Trust for America’s Health (TFAH). EL informe es basado en parte en ldatos publicados recientemente en el reporte del 2020 del Sistema de Vigilancia de Factores de Riesgo del Comportamiento (BFRSS) de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (BFRSS) y el análisis de TFAH, proporcionando las tasas anuales de sobrepeso y obesidad por edad, raza y estados de residencia de todo el país.

La obesidad está asociada con una variedad de enfermedades, incluyendo la diabetes tipo 2, enfermedades cardíacas, derrames cerebrales, artritis, apnea del sueño y muchos otros tipos de cánceres. Además, se estima que la obesidad aumenta el gasto en atención médica de $149 mil millones al año (aproximadamente la mitad de los cuales son pagados por Medicare y Medicaid). A parte de estp, la obesidad es una de las condiciones de salud subyacentes asociadas con las consecuencias más graves de la infección por COVID-19, representado un mayor riesgo de hospitalización y muerte.

Desde el comienzo de la pandemia, el 42 por ciento de los adultos en los EE. UU. Han experimentado un aumento de peso, según una encuesta de Harris, la cual fué realizada en febrero del 2021. El aumento de peso promedio que fue reportado por cada persona adulta en los EE. UU fué de 29 libras.

Dieciséis estados tienen una tasas de obesidad de un 35 por ciento ó más en los adultos.

Las tasas de obesidad varían considerablemente entre los estados y las regiones del país. En 2020, Mississippi tenía la tasa de obesidad adulta más alta con un 37,9 por ciento, seguida de Virginia Occidental con un 39,1 por ciento y Alabama con un 39 por ciento. Colorado tuvo la tasa de obesidad en adultos más baja a nivel nacional con un 24,2 por ciento.

A nivel nacional, se muestra que ahora son 16 estados los que tienen la tasa de obesidad en adultos iguales o superiores al 35 por ciento. Los estados que se le suman a esta lista son: Delaware, Iowa, Ohio y Texas. Los doce estados que continúan teniendo tasas de adultos superiores al 35 por ciento son: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Carolina del Sur, Tennessee y Virginia Occidental. (Puede verificar la data por estado).

En el 2012, ningún estado tenía una tasa de obesidad en adultos superior al 35 por ciento.

Las inequidades sistémicas y los factores socioeconómicos contribuyen a tasas más altas de obesidad entre ciertas poblaciones raciales y étnicas. Según los últimos datos nacionales disponibles por la Encuesta Nacional de Examen de Salud y Nutrición del 2017-2018 (NHANES, por sus siglas en inglés.) los adultos negros tenían el nivel más alto de obesidad adulta a nivel nacional con un 49,6 por ciento; impulsado en gran parte por una tasa de obesidad adulta entre las mujeres negras del 56,9 por ciento. Los adultos hispanos tienen una tasa de obesidad del 44,8 por ciento. Los adultos blancos tienen una tasa de obesidad del 42,2 por ciento y los adultos asiáticos tienen una tasa de obesidad del 17,4 por ciento.

Acorde a J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, Presidente y directora ejecutiva de Trust for America’s Health, “La epidemia de la obesidad es un problema urgente en los EE. UU. Y ha empeorado durante la pandemia del COVID-19. Lo que necesitamos son políticas que transormen los programas de inversiones de manera efectiva y audaz, que reduzcan las inequidades en el Sistema de salud y aborden las condiciones sociales y económicas de la vida de las personas, las cuales son las principals barreras para el acceso a alimentos y actividad física asequibles y saludables”.

El aumento de la tasasde obesidad también es un problema entre niños y adolescentes. Según los datos de la NHANES del 2017-2018, casi el 20 por ciento (19,3 por ciento) de los niños estadounidenses de 2 a 19 años son obesos. Estos datos se han triplicado desde mediados de la década de 1970, de los cuales los jóvenes negros y latinos tienen la tasa de obesidad sustancialmente más altas que sus pares blancos.

Medidas Que Se Deben Considerar Durante la Crisis de la Obesidad

Resolver la crisis de obesidad de la nación requerirá una mayor inversión y una acción política audaz. Las recomendaciones de este informe se centran en dos puntos principales: 1) La necesidad de crear un acercamiento a múltiples sectores multidisciplinarios, y 2) enfocarse primordialmente en aquellos grupos de la población que experimentan un riesgo desproporcionado de obesidad. Los legisladores no podrán revertir el aumento de la tasa de obesidad, sin abordar las condiciones sociales, económicas y ambientales, las cuales son la raíz del problema.

El reporte incluye unas medidas de recomendación para abordar la crisis de la obesidad, las cuales deben ser implementadas tanto por el gobierno federal, local, estatal, el sector de la educación, el sector de la salud y la industria alimentaria:

  • Ampliar el acceso al seguro médico, incluso mediante la extensión de Medicaid, haciendo que la cobertura del seguro a través del sistema de asistencia de salud (Marketplace), sea más asequible. Los planes de seguro deben cubrir todas las recomendaciones “A” o “B” del Grupo de Trabajo de Servicios Preventivos de EE. UU. para los programas de prevención de la obesidad, sin ningún costo extra para el paciente.
  • Aumentar los fondos para el Centro Nacional de Prevención de Enfermedades Crónicas y Promoción de la Salud de los CDC. Esta inversión debe incluir al menos $ 125 millones en el año fiscal 2022 para la División de Nutrición, Actividad Física y Obesidad de los CDC y $ 102.5 millones en el año fiscal 2022 para los Enfoques Raciales y Étnicos de la Salud Comunitaria de los CDC para garantizar los fondos suficientes, de manera y equitativa para los programas de prevención de obesidad en los 50 estados.
  • Hacer que las comidas escolares saludables sean gratuitas para todos los estudiantes, es un gran paso para acabar con el hambre infantil y asegurar el acceso a alimentos saludables. Proteger la reciente expansión de los beneficios del Programa de Asistencia de Nutrición Suplementaria (SNAP) y mejorar el acceso al Programa de Nutrición Suplementaria Especial para Mujeres, Bebés y Niños (WIC).
  • Eliminar vacíos fiscales y deducciones de costos comerciales a las corporaciones relacionadas con la publicidad de alimentos y bebidas que no son saludables para los niños.
  • Aumentar el precio de las bebidas azucaradas mediante un impuesto especial, generando ingresos fiscales para ser destinados a los esfuerzos de disminuir disparidades socioeconómicas y de salud para prevenir la obesidad.
  • Asegurar que todos tengan accesos seguro y conveniente a aceras y vías para caminar y andar en bicicleta, que todos los estudiantes puedan contar con rutas seguras para caminar o andar en bicicleta. Las inversiones en el departamento de transporte deben enfocarse en transporte activo, tanto el estado federal, local y estatal, junto al departamento de educación, deben enfocar sus esfuerzos en incrementar la actividad física durante la jornada escolar.

 

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Para leer el reporte completo

 

Trust for America’s Health es una organización no partidista sin fines de lucro que promueve una salud óptima para cada persona y comunidad y hace de la prevención de enfermedades y lesiones una prioridad nacional.

On the 20th Anniversary of the September 11th Terror Attacks the Nation is Better Prepared but Still not Fully Prepared for Public Health Emergencies

(Washington, DC – September 6, 2021) – On the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) reflects on the nation’s strong progress in preparedness for public health emergencies, as well as the major challenges that still exist, including those illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2002, following the first anniversary of this tragedy and the subsequent anthrax attacks, TFAH released its first analysis of the response and limitations of the public health system, Public Health Preparedness: Progress and Challenges Since September 11, 2001. From this report, TFAH’s Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism report series was developed.  The 2021 Ready or Not report highlights the urgent need for federal, state, and local policymakers to prioritize the nation’s health security as we work toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for extreme weather, the health impacts of climate change, future pandemics, and other emerging threats.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, the devastating wildfires, and the unfolding impacts of Hurricane Ida are only the most recent reminders of the need to strengthen our nation’s health security,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, TFAH President and CEO. “The 20th anniversary of September 11th is an important milestone to mark the progress we have made in the past two decades: we have built a public health preparedness enterprise from the ground up, including a dedicated public health emergency workforce. But we must make additional and sustained investments in public health infrastructure and workforce, and we must ensure equity is at the center of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.”

TFAH recommends the following policy actions to strengthen the nation’s emergency response capacity:

  • Federal, state, and local governments should bolster public health infrastructure investments. Congress should enact the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act and make annual investments in public health infrastructure to build the workforce and systems that have been chronically neglected for decades.
  • Congress should invest in modernizing public health data systems. Modern and sustainable public health data systems and the collection of complete and disaggregated demographic data will facilitate a more effective and equitable public health response during future emergencies.
  • Public health and government leaders must be equipped to deliver effective public communications and counter misinformation. Misinformation, such as inaccurate social media messaging, has been a significant barrier to developing a proactive public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic and has increased vaccine hesitancy. Congress must fund research and implementation of public health communications and messaging, grounded in the best available science, to counter misinformation.
  • Equity should be an explicit and foundational component of preparedness and response at all levels of public health. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that health inequities are exacerbated during emergencies. Health departments and policymakers should build the health equity workforce, partner with, and provide resources to trusted community organizations, and incorporate equity leadership into all emergency planning and response.
  • Federal and state lawmakers should invest in policies and capacity to improve social and economic conditions in communities and advance equity and resilience. People at highest risk during disasters and those who have the hardest time recovering are often those with unstable or unhealthy housing, limited access to transportation, and people who live in low-income communities – circumstances often rooted in longstanding systemic inequities. Congress should invest in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) efforts to address the social determinants of health. Lawmakers and employers should advance policies and promote multisector efforts to ensure access to healthy, affordable housing; promote economic mobility through living wage and paid sick and family leave policies; eliminate poverty; address food security; and improve transportation.

This month, the nation commemorates the thousands of lives lost during the 9/11 attacks, continues to mourn the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to COVID-19, and honors the heroic efforts of first responders, the public health workforce, and healthcare workers. As we reflect and move forward, we must commit to preventing and preparing for public health emergencies in ways that ensure that everyone’s health and well-being are protected during times of crisis.

 

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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 Report Outlines Role of Social Determinants in Americans’ Health

Calls for Adoption of Policies Shown to Improve Health Outcomes, Control Healthcare Spending, and Create Health Equity

(Washington, DC – July 29, 2021) – America’s chronic disease and health disparities crisis require policy interventions targeting structural racism and the social determinants of health, concludes a report released today by Trust for America’s Health.

The report, Leveraging Evidence-Based Policies to Improve Health, Control Costs, and Create Health Equity, reviews five policy areas: access to healthcare, economic mobility, affordable housing, safe and healthy learning environments for children, and health-promoting excise taxes. Based on an extensive review of the evidence, the report recommends federal and state-level policies in each issue area to improve health outcomes, advance health equity and reduce healthcare spending.

Today, nearly half of all Americans have at least one chronic disease, and that number is growing. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic starkly illuminated the ways in which social and economic conditions and inequities– often deeply rooted in communities due to historical and current day structural racism and discrimination – greatly increase health risks and burdens for certain populations groups, including many communities of color. According to the CDC, hospitalization rates during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic were 3.3 times higher for American Indian/Alaska Natives and approximately 3 times higher for Blacks and Latinos as compared to the hospitalization rate for whites.

“The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the role that social and economic conditions play in health and gives policymakers an opportunity to build an improved social supports and public health system,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “Focusing solely on individual behavior will not solve America’s health crisis. Building healthy and thriving communities and advancing health equity require improving the social and economic conditions that shape health. Only then will everyone have a fair and just opportunity to enjoy optimal health.”

The social determinants of health are factors beyond traditional healthcare that significantly impact health including where you are born, live, work, play, go to school, and age. Data show that these factors impact a wide range of quality-of-life outcomes and health risks. For example, where you live, has a measurable impact on overall health status and longevity.  Furthermore, inequities limit access to health resources and educational and economic opportunities that can lead to poor health.

Policy decisions can drive improvements in the social conditions in communities or they can perpetuate inequities. Policies do not need to be deliberately discriminatory to exacerbate inequities. For example, tying school funding to local property taxes leaves schools in lower income communities with fewer resources than higher income neighborhoods.

The report identifies policies that, if implemented, can create the conditions in people’s lives that support optimal health.  Recommended policy actions in each category includes:

Goal: Supporting Access to High-Quality Healthcare Services

Recommendation: Adopt Medicaid Expansion.  States that have adopted Medicaid expansion experienced the largest reductions in the number of uninsured persons. In 2018, the uninsured rate among low-income, non-elderly adults in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility was about half that of the uninsured rate in states that did not expand the program. Increased access to healthcare saved lives and was associated with a reduction in total state spending on traditional Medicaid.

Goal: Promoting Economic Mobility

Recommendation: Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. The earned income tax credit (EITC) is a tax credit offered to eligible low-income workers to enhance their economic security. EITC policies, both federal and state, help lift millions of working families out of poverty and reduces the severity of poverty for millions more.

Goal: Ensuring Access to Affordable Housing

Recommendation: Expand the Low-income Housing Tax Credit Program. Decades of research has demonstrated a connection between safe and secure housing and good health.  The low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) provides tax incentives to encourage developers to build affordable housing. Since the LIHTC program was created approximately 3 million quality homes have been developed to serve working families, older adults, people with disabilities and those at risk of homelessness. Despite this success, the need for affordable housing remains high across the country.

Goal: Promoting Safe and Healthy Learning Environments for Children

Recommendation: Increase access to high-quality early childhood education programs. Research demonstrates the many ways in which safe and supportive school environments put children on healthy developmental pathways. High-quality early childhood education programming, such as Head Start and pre-K can have long-lasting positive impacts on children throughout their lives. Early childhood education centers and schools are also critical sources of nutrition for millions of children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and provide access to healthcare for millions of students via school-based health centers.

Goal: Using tax policy to encourage healthy choices

Recommendation: Tax unhealthy products, like tobacco and sugar-sweeten beverages. Such taxes can be a win-win for localities, encouraging healthy choices and raising local revenue that can be reinvested in health-promoting and prevention programs.

Report:  Leveraging Evidence-Based Policies to Improve Health, Control Costs, and Create Health Equity

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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

 

Nuevo informe describe el papel de los determinantes sociales en la salud de los estadounidenses

Pide la adopción de políticas eficientes para mejorar los resultados de salud, controlar el gasto en atención médica y crear equidad en la salud

(Washington, DC – 29 de julio de 2021) – La crisis de las enfermedades crónicas y las disparidades de salud en Estados Unidos requiere intervenciones de políticas dirigidas al racismo estructural y los determinantes sociales de la salud, concluye un informe publicado hoy por Trust for America’s Health.

El informe, Leveraging Evidence-Based Policies to Improve Health, Control Costs, and Create Health Equity, analiza cinco áreas de políticas: acceso a la atención médica, movilidad económica, vivienda asequible, entornos de aprendizaje seguros y saludables para los niños e impuestos especiales que promueven la salud. Basado en una extensa revisión de la evidencia, el informe recomienda políticas a nivel federal y estatal en cada área temática para mejorar los resultados de salud, promover la equidad en la salud y reducir el gasto en atención médica.

Hoy en día, casi la mitad de todos los estadounidenses tienen al menos una enfermedad crónica, y ese número está aumentando. Además, la pandemia de COVID-19 iluminó claramente las formas en que las condiciones sociales y económicas y las desigualdades, a menudo profundamente arraigadas en las comunidades debido al racismo y la discriminación estructural históricos y actuales, aumentan en gran medida los riesgos y las cargas para la salud de ciertos grupos de población, incluidos muchas comunidades de color. Según los CDC, las tasas de hospitalización durante el apogeo de la pandemia COVID-19 fueron 3.3 veces más altas para los indios americanos / nativos de Alaska y aproximadamente 3 veces más altas para los afroamericanos y latinos en comparación con la tasa de hospitalización de los blancos.

“La pandemia de COVID-19 puso en relieve el papel que juegan las condiciones sociales y económicas en la salud y brinda a los responsables de la formulación de políticas la oportunidad de construir un mejor apoyo social y un sistema de salud pública”, dijo J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, Presidente y CEO de Trust for America’s Health. “Centrarse únicamente en el comportamiento individual no resolverá la crisis de salud de Estados Unidos. La construcción de comunidades saludables y prósperas y el avance de la equidad en salud requieren mejorar las condiciones sociales y económicas que dan forma a la salud. Solo entonces todos tendrán una oportunidad justa y equitativa de disfrutar de una salud óptima “.

Los determinantes sociales de la salud son factores más allá de la atención médica tradicional que tienen un impacto significativo en la salud, incluido el lugar de nacimiento, el hogar, el trabajo, el juego, la escuela y la edad. Los datos muestran que estos factores afectan una amplia gama de resultados de calidad de vida y riesgos para la salud. Por ejemplo, el lugar donde vive tiene un impacto medible en el estado de salud general y la longevidad. Además, las inequidades limitan el acceso a los recursos de salud y las oportunidades educativas y económicas que pueden conducir a una mala salud.

Las decisiones de política pueden impulsar mejoras en las condiciones sociales en las comunidades o pueden perpetuar las inequidades. No es necesario que las políticas sean deliberadamente discriminatorias para exacerbar las desigualdades. Por ejemplo, vincular los fondos escolares a los impuestos locales a la propiedad deja a las escuelas en comunidades de menores ingresos con menos recursos que los vecindarios de mayores ingresos.

El informe identifica políticas que, si se implementan, pueden crear las condiciones en la vida de las personas que respaldan una salud óptima. Las acciones de política recomendadas en cada categoría incluyen:

Objetivo: Respaldar el acceso a servicios de atención médica de alta calidad

Recomendación: Adopte la expansión de Medicaid. Los estados que han adoptado la expansión de Medicaid experimentaron las mayores reducciones en el número de personas sin seguro. En el 2018, la tasa de personas sin seguro médico entre los adultos no ancianos de bajos ingresos en los estados que expandieron la elegibilidad para Medicaid fue aproximadamente la mitad de la tasa de personas sin seguro en los estados que no expandieron el programa. El mayor acceso a la atención médica salvó vidas y se asoció con una reducción en el gasto estatal total en Medicaid tradicional.

Objetivo: Promover la movilidad económica

Recomendación: Ampliar el Crédito Tributario por Ingreso del Trabajo. El crédito tributario por ingreso del trabajo (EITC) es un crédito tributario que se ofrece a los trabajadores elegibles de bajos ingresos para mejorar su seguridad económica. Las políticas del EITC, tanto federales como estatales, ayudan a sacar de la pobreza a millones de familias trabajadoras y reducen la gravedad de la pobreza para millones más.

Objetivo: Garantizar el acceso a viviendas asequibles

Recomendación: Ampliar el programa de crédito fiscal para viviendas de bajos ingresos. Décadas de investigación han demostrado una conexión entre viviendas seguras y protegidas y buena salud. El crédito fiscal para viviendas para personas de bajos ingresos (LIHTC) ofrece incentivos fiscales para alentar a los desarrolladores a construir viviendas asequibles. Desde que se creó el programa LIHTC, se han desarrollado aproximadamente 3 millones de hogares de calidad para atender a familias trabajadoras, adultos mayores, personas con discapacidades y personas en riesgo de quedarse sin hogar. A pesar de este éxito, la necesidad de viviendas asequibles sigue siendo alta en todo el país.

Objetivo: Promover entornos de aprendizaje seguros y saludables para los niños

Recomendación: Incrementar el acceso a programas de educación infantil de alta calidad.

Las investigaciones demuestran las muchas formas en que los entornos escolares seguros y de apoyo colocan a los niños en vías de desarrollo saludables. Los programas de educación de la primera infancia de alta calidad, como Head Start y prekínder, pueden tener impactos positivos duraderos en los niños a lo largo de sus vidas. Los centros de educación infantil y las escuelas también son fuentes críticas de nutrición para millones de niños a través de los Programas Nacionales de Almuerzos y Desayunos Escolares y brindan acceso a la atención médica para millones de estudiantes a través de los centros de salud escolares.

Objetivo: utilizar la política fiscal para fomentar opciones saludables

Recomendación: Impuestos los productos no saludables, como el tabaco y las bebidas azucaradas. Dichos impuestos pueden ser beneficiosos para las localidades, fomentando opciones saludables y recaudando ingresos locales que pueden reinvertirse en programas de prevención y promoción de la salud.

 

Reporte:  Leveraging Evidence-Based Policies to Improve Health, Control Costs, and Create Health Equity

 

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Trust for America’s Health es una organización no partidista sin fines de lucro que promueve la salud óptima para cada persona y comunidad y hace de la prevención de enfermedades y lesiones una prioridad nacional. Twitter: @ healthyamerica1

TFAH Applauds Surgeon General’s Call for Whole-of-Society Approach to Correcting the Problem of Health Misinformation

(Washington, DC – July 15, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment and his call for a whole-of-society approach to correcting the problem of health misinformation.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated, access to accurate health information empowers people and protects their health, while health misinformation risks lives.  TFAH is committed to working with all partners and allies to combat health misinformation,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, TFAH President and CEO.

 

 

 

TFAH Applauds Court’s Decision Preserving the Affordable Care Act

Decision strengthens the nation’s healthcare system, protects healthcare access for 31 million Americans and will help address health disparities

(Washington, DC — June 17, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health applauds today’s Supreme Court’s decision in California v. Texas for the ways in which it protects healthcare access for 31 million Americans and will help address the nation’s health disparities.

“Access to affordable healthcare is fundamental to individual health. It is also fundamental to achieving health equity. While as a nation we still have a lot of work to do to achieve good health for every individual, today’s court decision keeps us moving in the right direction – it will save lives,” says John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 31 million people have gained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) including many who lost employment and health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.[i]  Since the ACA, rates of people without health insurance have decreased in every state, with states that expanded Medicaid experiencing the largest reductions.[ii]

The ACA is transformative legislation in at least three ways: the number of Americans who can now access medical care when they are ill or to deal with chronic conditions (78 percent of U.S. adults 55 and older have at least one chronic condition);[iii] the illness it prevented as millions of Americans gained access to preventive care and screenings and other life-saving services previously inaccessible to them;[iv] and the ways in which it resulted in improved access to healthcare for people of color, reducing – although not eliminating – longstanding healthcare access disparities.

Prior to the ACA, non-Hispanic Black Americans were 70 percent more likely to be uninsured than were whites and the uninsured rate for Hispanics was nearly three times the uninsured rate for whites.[v] Once the ACA was in place, Hispanics had the largest decrease in uninsurance rates, falling from 32.6 percent to 19.1 percent between 2010 and 2016. Uninsurance rates also fell for Asian and Black Americans by 8 percent during the same period.[vi]

Medicaid expansion states experienced significant coverage gains and reductions in uninsured rates among the low-income population broadly and within specific vulnerable populations.[vii] According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income adults led to significant benefits to those individuals and families including improved access to care, improved health outcomes and increased financial stability – including a reduction in medical debt per person gaining coverage via the expansion.[viii] A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found states that expanded Medicaid had an estimated 19,200 fewer adult deaths (ages 55 to 64) between 2014 and 2017 than did states that did not expand Medicaid.[ix]

The decision also has major implications for public health by protecting over $16 billion in funding over the next 10 years (FY 2022-FY 2031) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health agencies. The Prevention and Public Health Fund, a dedicated funding stream created by the ACA and specifically designated for public health and prevention, funds approximately 11 percent of the CDC’s budget. These funds are put to work in every state to expand immunizations, prevent suicide, modernize laboratory and epidemiology services to detect and contain disease outbreaks, prevent childhood lead poisoning, and help smokers quit.

Also preserved are the requirement that insurers not refuse coverage due to preexisting conditions, the provision disallowing annual or lifetime limits on essential care, and the requirement that insurers cover recommended clinical preventive services without cost-sharing: all essential to Americans’ health.

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[i] HHS, HHS Press Office. New HHS Data Show More Americans Than Ever Have Health Coverage Through the Affordable Care Act. June 5, 2021. New HHS Data Show More Americans than Ever Have Health Coverage through the Affordable Care Act | HHS.gov

[ii] ibid

[iii] CDC, National Center for Health Statistics. Percentage of U.S. Adults over 55 with Chronic Conditions. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/health_policy/adult_chronic_conditions.htm

[iv] Garfield R, Orgera K, Damico A. The uninsured and the ACA: a primer—key facts about health insurance and the uninsured amidst changes to the Affordable Care Act [Internet]. San Francisco (CA): Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; 2019 Jan 25.  https://www.kff.org/uninsured/report/the-uninsured-and-the-aca-a-primer-key-facts-about-health-insurance-and-the-uninsured-amidst-changes-to-the-affordable-care-act/ Google Scholar

[v] Buchmueller TC, Levinson ZM, Levy HG, Wolfe BL. Effect of the Affordable Care Act on racial and ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage. Am J Public Health. 2016;106(8):1416–21

[vi] Garfield R, Orgera K, Damico A. The uninsured and the ACA: a primer—key facts about health insurance and the uninsured amidst changes to the Affordable Care Act [Internet]. San Francisco (CA): Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; 2019 Jan 25.  https://www.kff.org/uninsured/report/the-uninsured-and-the-aca-a-primer-key-facts-about-health-insurance-and-the-uninsured-amidst-changes-to-the-affordable-care-act/ Google Scholar

[vii] Madeline Guth, et al. The Effects of Medicaid Expansion Under the ACA: Updated Findings from a Literature Review. March 17, 2020.

[viii] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Far-Reaching Benefits of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion. October 21, 2020. The Far-Reaching Benefits of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (cbpp.org)

[ix] Madeline Guth, et al. The Effects of Medicaid Expansion Under the ACA: Updated Findings from a Literature Review. March 17, 2020.