Policymakers are asking: With the United States spending far more on healthcare compared to other high-income nations, why does our nation still yield substantially worse health outcomes and what funding and policy actions must we take to see better results?
To shed light on that important question, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Coalition for Health Funding (CHF) are gathering experts in public health policy and funding on June 20th to discuss the critical need for increased, sustainable, and flexible funding that specifically targets public health and prevention. The discussion will focus on how to address the longstanding gaps in public health capacity resulting from chronic underfunding.
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This briefing explores the findings from TFAH’s recent report, Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.
The past year alone saw the U.S. surpassing 1 million deaths due to COVID-19, decreasing rates of routine vaccinations, and increasing prevalence of health misinformation. In addition, last year the U.S. experienced 10 or more billion-dollar weather-related disasters for the eighth consecutive year. The webinar will review TFAH’s 2023 Ready or Not report which measures states’ degree of preparedness to respond to a wide spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services.
Subject matter experts discussed the nation’s readiness for public health emergencies, examine the findings of the report, and discuss key recommendations for policymakers.
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Trust for America’s Health
Children’s National Hospital
With Congress having spent billions of dollars fighting COVID-19 since early 2020, why should we increase annual funding for public health when we have so many other competing priorities?
TFAH and the Coalition for Health Funding convened experts in public health policy and funding to clearly explain the need for robust, sustainable public health funding and how it must be considered separately from the COVID-19 emergency.
As the nation enters its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s report calls for urgent investment to create a public health system able to protect all Americans’ health during emergencies. The report measures states’ degree of preparedness to respond to a wide spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services.
A panel of subject matter experts discussed the nation’s readiness for public health emergencies, examined the findings of the report, and discussed key recommendations for policymakers.
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Trust for America’s Health
Office of Minority Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Articles shared by Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA
There are up to 15 million older adults and people with disabilities in America that are experiencing challenges accessing the COVID-19 vaccine due to issues that prevent them from traveling to a vaccine site. With support from The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Cambia Health Foundation, Trust for America’s Health is offering a webinar to explore the challenges and policy barriers to vaccine access and highlight innovative vaccine distribution practices. The complexities of vaccine distribution to homebound individuals was discussed, as well as the crucial partnerships among public health departments, aging services and other community stakeholders that are key to expanding vaccine access.
This webinar comes at a critical juncture as COVID-19 vaccine development continues. As has been the case with previous public health emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing racial inequities that have long existed in the U.S. Racial and ethnic disparities also continue in vaccine access, due to contributing factors such as lack of access to health coverage and care and issues of distrust.
Featured experts shared with policymakers and stakeholders the historical reasons for vaccine hesitancy in communities of color, highlighted ongoing vaccination disparities and discussed policy recommendations to build vaccine confidence and access in communities of color.
Many Americans struggle to maintain a safe and healthy place to live. People who are housing insecure or experience homelessness typically have poorer physical and mental health outcomes and are at greater risk for infection during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to other challenges.
In response, solutions such as providing short-term housing arrangements for newly released low-level criminal justice offenders to rental assistance and freezes on evictions have been put in place to reduce the risk of exposure among vulnerable populations during the pandemic. However, these short-term solutions won’t be enough. Also required are sustainable long-term programs that equitably improve opportunities for individuals to live in safe and affordable housing.
This Webinar highlights the disproportionate and long-existing economic and health disparities among people who are housing insecure or experience homelessness. In addition, the webinar highlights what is currently being done to protect this population during the COVID-19 pandemic, and identify the long-term policy, system, and environmental changes that are needed to advance health equity by effectively addressing housing insecurity and homelessness.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges and aggravated existing obstacles to mental health care and well-being. Individuals, families, and communities nationwide are grappling with financial insecurity, increased difficulty accessing mental health and substance use care, and an elevated level of overall stress and anxiety. This pandemic also threatens to widen existing disparities in access, treatment, and recovery for mental illness and substance use disorders. All of this culminates into a possible “second wave” of rising mental anguish, addiction, and social dislocation.
The discussion focused on the unique challenges for mental health in the wake of COVID-19. Attendees learned about current advocacy efforts to improve the mental health system, what specialized resources in response to the pandemic have been released to date, and what else may be needed.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis presents unique challenges for the public health and aging sectors. While social distancing protects older adults who are at higher risk for complications from the virus, the practice can exacerbate social isolation, a longstanding issue for this population. The needs of older adults must be considered across a continuum of care from primary prevention to post-acute care in the coming months.
Trust For America’s Health Policy Development Manager, Megan Wolfe for a Web Forum to discuss how to address the unique challenges that older adults face while adhering to public health advice to minimize risk of infection. Attendees will learn about the consequences of social isolation, how the aging services sector has adapted its delivery models, and hear about promising practices from the field and the importance of working with public health partners to address the needs of older adults.
This webinar highlights recommendations made in TFAH’s Ready or Not and Promoting Health and Cost Control in States (PHACCS) reports on the important role of paid sick leave in combating infectious diseases, as well as other complementary evidence-based policies that can be adopted by federal, state and local governments and by employers.
Presenters focused on pending federal legislation, states that have adopted laws regarding paid leave, and businesses that are expanding these benefits. In addition, they discussed the potential short-term uses of the recently approved supplemental budget to assist individuals without paid leave when confined to their homes.
Recommended for anyone working in public health, advocacy, school health, community-based organizations, businesses, labor unions, hospitals, health systems, insurers, policy staff, and local and state health officials.