Act Today to Stop Congressional Cuts to Prevention Fund!
December 15, 2011
Today is a National Day of Action on Prevention, a coordinated effort by hundreds of public health advocates around the country to protect critical prevention money in the new health reform law from deep cuts.
Proposals now moving forward on Capitol Hill would cut the prevention fund by two-thirds or more–just when evidence is mounting that proven prevention programs, especially those to keep kids from smoking and help smokers quit, pay big returns by reducing health care costs. Tobacco-prevention programs could save an astonishing 14-20 times the cost of implementing them, according to a recent study in the journal Contemporary Economic Policy.
Congress established the Prevention and Public Health Fund to finance proven prevention programs precisely because lawmakers are trying to curtail future health care costs. They made the right decision then. Don't let them get it wrong now!
Let your representative know that paying for prevention now saves lives — and taxpayer money — in the future.