Billions To Fight Obesity At Issue

“As one house of Congress moves toward a September vote on offering insurance to millions of Americans, the other is wading into a controversy over whether such coverage should include billions of dollars aimed at keeping people well. A draft Senate bill would provide up to $10 billion annually for a "prevention and public health investment fund" - a portion of which could be used for infrastructure projects such as bike paths, sidewalks, farmers' markets and other community interventions meant to curb chronic and costly conditions such as obesity. But while some lawmakers believe these initiatives could trim pork from American waistlines and cut costs in the long run, others consider them pork-barrel spending. One critic, Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, the top-ranked Republican on the Health, Education, Labor and Pension panel and an accountant, called the provisions "an $80 billion slush fund for additional pork-barrel projects" and "wasteful spending" during a time of record deficits. ‘The [Health Committee] bill will pave sidewalks, build jungle gyms and open grocery stores,’ Enzi said, "but it won't bring down health care costs or make quality coverage more affordable." But advocates say preventive efforts will bring down costs. ‘We know these programs work,’ said Rich Hamburg, director of government relations for the Trust for America's Health, a nonpartisan organization that works to make disease prevention a national priority. ‘In and of itself, prevention makes sense,’ Hamburg said. Trust for America's Health joined more than 300 organizations in urging lawmakers to include public health and prevention funds in the bill. The group also led a 2008 report suggesting that an investment of $10 per person per year in "proven community-based programs" - such as providing access to fresh produce through farmers' markets - could save America more than $16 billion annually within five years in lower health care costs.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/bal-te.healthcare03aug03,0,1190338.story