Public's health at risk from sequester, advocates warn

The world's oldest association of public-health workers is warning the sequestration cuts that hit Friday will threaten the well-being of the United States.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) released a statement Friday expressing "grave concerns" about the across-the-board budget cuts that resulted from Washington's inability to reach a long-term deficit-reduction deal.

"Sequester means 424,000 fewer HIV tests conducted by CDC's health department grantees, 7,400 fewer patients having access to HRSA's AIDS Drug Assistance Program that provides life-saving HIV medications and about 25,000 fewer breast and cervical cancer screenings for poor, high-risk women," APHA executive director Georges Benjamin said. 

"These cuts would also reduce food inspections, decrease public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities, reduce funding for states to monitor air quality, reduce mental health services for those in need, put the public at greater risk of infectious disease outbreaks and negatively impact many other critical public health programs."

Medicare benefits, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program are exempt from the cuts, as are some parts of President Obama's healthcare law. But many health agencies run using discretionary spending face an 8 percent to 9 percent budget reduction.

Advocates have warned about the danger of cutting U.S. investments in public health for years. In recent months, groups have said sequester will hit money for graduate medical training, mental health services, community health centers, and vital medical research.

Some conservatives argue that sequestration should be welcomed as a long-desired whack at the federal budget. But Benjamin said Friday that efforts to pare down spending should focus on entitlements, not targeted intervention programs.

“These are essential public health services that save lives and protect our health," Benjamin said Friday. "To decimate programs that hold the greatest potential for growth and health security is a matter of failed policy."

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