Nevada Ranks 31st for Disease Prevention Funding
WASHINGTON, March 1, 2010 -- Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a new study today that finds Nevada ranks 31st out of 50 states in the amount of federal funding received from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support state disease and injury prevention programs in fiscal year (FY) 2009. According to Shortchanging America’s Health: A State-By-State Look at Public Health Funding in the United States, Nevada received $18.73 per person - a total of $49,508,172 - which is below average for the Western region.
The report found that overall federal spending for public health has been virtually flat for nearly five years – at approximately $19.23 per person - and has not even been increased to keep pace with inflation. States in the Midwest received the least amount of federal funding for public health at $16.50 per person. This is $3.30 less per person than the Northeastern states, which received the highest amount, at $19.80 per person. Western states receive $19.22 per person, while Southern states receive $19.75 per person. Approximately 75 percent of CDC's budget is distributed through grants or cooperative agreements to states and communities to support programs to prevent diseases and prepare for health disasters.
Federal funding that goes to states for public health varies significantly from state to state, from a low of $13.33 per person in Virginia to a high of $58.65 in Alaska.
The Shortchanging America’s Health report also found that across the country, nationwide state funding for public health dropped by $392 million in the past year. Funding in Nevada increased by 7.7 percent in 2009, but the total funding remains low at $ 3.55 per person -- or $ 9,379,920 total.
Given the economic situation, it is likely that many more states will cut budgets in the coming year, which will further limit the ability of public health departments to carry out services for:
- Cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic disease prevention;
- HIV/AIDS, MRSA, TB, and other infectious disease prevention;
- Food and water safety;
- Environmental health improvement; and
- Bioterrorism and health emergency preparednes
“Public health departments are responsible for finding ways to address the systemic reasons why some communities are healthier than others and for developing policies and programs to remove obstacles that get in the way of making health choices possible,” said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH. “But right now, public health departments do not have the resources they need to improve health in communities. Our ability to address the geographic and racial/ethnic disparities in health is limited by our failure to invest adequately in creating a modernized public health system.”
The full report includes state-by-state pages of key health statistics and funding information and is available on TFAH's Web site at www.healthyamericans.org and RWJF’s Web site at www.rwjf.org. The report was supported by a grant from RWJF.
Rankings of State Budgets (Based on FY 2009)
1=Most funds; 50=Least funds. Funds are listed on a per person basis. The national median is $28.92 per person. The public health budget decreased from FY2008 to FY2009 when adjusted for inflation in states marked with an *.
1. Hawaii* ($169.92); 2. District of Columbia ($134.17); 3. West Virginia ($89.10); 4. Idaho ($80.19); 5. Vermont ($76.60); 6. Oklahoma ( $74.41); 7. California* ($71.46); 8. New York ($68.83); 9. Massachusetts* ($66.13); 10. Alabama ($64.45); 11. New Mexico ($62.12); 12. Wyoming* ($60.42); 13. Delaware ($52.77); 14. Alaska* ($50.83); 15. Colorado ($49.53); 16. Rhode Island* ($48.88); 17. Kentucky ($46.37); 18. Tennessee* ($45.74); 19. Louisiana* ($42.80); 20. Virginia* ($38.73); 21. Nebraska ($38.03); 22. Maryland* ($37.05); 23. Washington* ($36.48); 24. New Jersey* ($32.38); 25. Utah* ($30.38); 26. South Dakota ($28.92); 27. Arkansas ($28.07); 28. Connecticut ($27.19); 29. Maine* ($25.78); 30. Florida* ($25.61); 31. South Carolina* ($24.52); 32. Illinois ($24.32); 33. Montana* ($23.69); 34. Iowa ($22.47); 35. New Hampshire* ($22.03); 36. Michigan ($21.99); 37. North Dakota ($21.05); 38. Georgia ($19.66); 39. Pennsylvania* ($19.64); 40. Kansas* ($16.66); 41. Oregon ($16.06); 42. Texas ($15.83); 43. Minnesota* ($14.66); 44. North Carolina* ($14.13); 45. Ohio* ($13.84); 46. Arizona* ($12.78); 47. Indiana* ($12.64); 48. Mississippi* ($10.53); 49. Wisconsin* ($10.23); 50. Missouri ($9.26); 51. Nevada ($3.55).
Rankings of CDC Funds for States (Based on FY 2009)
1=Most funds; 50=Least funds. Funds are listed on a per person basis. The national average CDC funding is $19.23 per person.
1. Alaska ($58.65); 2. Vermont ($36.98); 3. Wyoming ($35.35); 4. Rhode Island ($32.79); 5. New Mexico ($30.51); 6. North Dakota ($30.37); 7. South Dakota ($30.16); 8. Delaware ($27.26); 9. Hawaii ($26.78); 10. Montana ($26.60); 11. Louisiana ($25.62); 12. Maryland ($24.65); 13. Idaho ($24.00); 14. West Virginia ($23.66); 15. Maine ($23.43); 16. New Hampshire ($23.37); 17. (tie) Arkansas ($23.30); 17. (tie) Mississippi ($23.30); 19. New York ($22.21); 20. Washington ($21.79); 21. Nebraska ($21.38); 22. Texas ($21.28); 23. Massachusetts ($20.97); 24. South Carolina ($20.91); 25. Oklahoma ($20.86); 26. North Carolina ($20.48); 27. Connecticut ($19.98); 28. Colorado ($19.59); 29. Georgia ($19.32); 30. Alabama ($19.01); 31. Nevada ($18.73); 32. Arizona ($18.59); 33. Illinois ($18.29); 34. Utah ($18.19); 35. Oregon ($17.92); 36. Iowa ($17.78); 37. Kansas ($17.38); 38. Florida ($17.27); 39. California ($16.81); 40. New Jersey ($16.67); 41. Minnesota ($16.50); 42. Tennessee ($16.41); 43. Missouri ($16.25); 44. Wisconsin ($15.98); 45. Michigan ($15.97); 46. Kentucky ($15.57); 47. Pennsylvania ($14.86); 48. Indiana ($14.25); 49. Ohio ($13.52); 50. Virginia ($13.33). D.C. was not included in the per capita rankings because total funding for D.C. include funds for a number of national organizations.
* Regions are based on the U.S. Census Bureau definitions. Midwestern states include: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Northeastern states include: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Western states include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Southern states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the quality of the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful, and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.