Healthiest State Blog

“F” AS IN FAT…

Consistent with findings in the 2008 Healthiest State Report Card and the United Health Foundation’s 2008 America’s Health Rankings, the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation this morning released its sixth annual edition of the report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009.

The report contains rankings of state obesity rates, reviews federal and state government policies aimed at reducing or preventing obesity, and provides recommendations for addressing obesity within national health reform.

The report finds that in the past year adult obesity rates increased in 23 states while no state saw a decrease. In addition, the percentage of obese and overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.   Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent, making it the fifth year in a row that the state topped the list. Mississippi also had the highest rate of obese and overweight children at 44.4 percent.  Eight of the 10 states with the highest percentage of obese adults are in the South. Colorado continued to have the lowest percentage of obese adults at 18.9 percent.
 Washington state ranks 28th in adult obesity, with a rate of 25.4% obese adults.  Our state ranks 33rd in childhood obesity, with a rate of 29.5% obese and overweight children.

Prevention: Just Do It!!

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

It’s time to reform the health system.  And health reform without prevention, won’t reform health.  Our current health care delivery system is based on fixing disease rather than preventing it.  A mind-shift is necessary, and although it sounds so easy, and makes so much sense, it’s hard to achieve.  Behavior change takes years, sometimes generations.  Until we start looking at health care as a right rather than a privilege, we will remain stuck.  Until we include prevention in the plan, it won’t work the way it should. 

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is a strong advocate for prevention. He has consistently emphasized prevention as a necessary part of any health reform legislation.  Harkin states, “The fact is, we currently do not have a health care system in the United States; we have a sick care system.  If you’re sick, you get care, whether through insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, community health centers, emergency rooms, or charity.  The problem is that this is all about patching things up after people develop serious illnesses and chronic conditions.”

The U.S. spends a staggering $2.3 trillion annually on health care – 16.5 percent of our GDP and far more than any other country spends on health care – yet the World Health Organization ranks U.S. health care only 37th among nations, on par with Serbia. 

The time is now.  The challenge is before us.  Together we can continue to work toward making Washington the Healthiest State in the Nation, and if we make our voices heard, we can encourage Congress to pass health reform that includes prevention.

The King of Pop and the Czar of Healthcare

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

It’s the end of an era.  The King of Pop is gone.  It’s a sad day in the world of entertainment.  Many of us grew up listening to Michael Jackson, looking at that Farrah Fawcett poster, and watching Ed McMahon announce Johnny Carson every night.  All will be missed.  But the beat goes on:  it’s the dawn of a new day, and health reform is at hand.  And we at the Healthiest State Campaign are working to reform the system, and to keep you informed on what’s going on at the national level. 

The Health Czar is Nancy Anne DeParle.  She was appointed by President Obama in March 2009.  And she has a tough job ahead of her.  She stays behind the scenes, but she’s got great credentials:  Harvard Law, Rhodes Scholar, named in 1994 by TIME as one of "America's 50 Most Promising Leaders Under 40." She ran health services in her home state of Tennessee, worked in the Clinton White House on health policy in the early 1990s and oversaw the Medicare and Medicaid programs at that decade's end.

We will learn more about Michael Jackson’s death as time goes on.  What caused his heart attack at the young age of 50?  What role could prevention have played in his health?  What lessons can we learn from all of this? 

Rock on Nancy.  So long Michael.  Let’s keep working together to reform health

The “Spreadsheet Psychic” Strikes Again

By Andrew Ratzke, WHF Public Affairs Intern

Is it possible that members of Congress could have personal motives influencing their support or opposition to the proposed government-administered health insurance plan? 

This question was recently considered by Nate Silver, the young statistician most famously known for his eerily accurate predictions during the 2008 general election.  Silver developed a formula based on three variables:

1.    Each U.S. Senator’s political stance;
2.    Per capita health care spending in each U.S. Senator’s home state; and
3.    How much money each U.S. Senator has received from the health insurance lobby.

Silver claims these three factors can accurately predict which U.S. Senators will support a public health insurance option—and he considers the third the most important factor. 

Using this model, Silver excluded conservatives who have already opposed a public plan, and looked at the remaining Senators.  He found that the more conservative a Democrat Senator is, the more likely it is that he or she will be influenced by money received from insurance companies. 

Overall, Silver’s report shows that as campaign contributions increase, the more likely “our representatives” are to vote with the insurance industry—and against a public plan.  He says middle of the road Democrats will be the most easily influenced.  Silver even predicted which Senators can be influenced the most with money.   

Now you may wonder: How would our U.S. Senators vote if the insurance industry wasn’t making all these campaign contributions?  According to Silver’s model, if no money was involved, then 47 Senators would support a public plan (currently just 38 Senators are supporting the measure).

If the vote on health reform uses the 50 vote tactic that President Obama has introduced for health and energy policy, it would mean Democrats would need 12 of 21 remaining Senators to vote in favor of the public health insurance option. 

As of now Silver’s statistics suggest that eight of those 21 have a probability higher than 50% that they will vote supporting the government-administered health insurance program. 

Let’s hope that money isn’t the deciding vote.

Obama Gets Tough; Baucus Moves Forward

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has taken a lead role in drafting health reform legislation, and is working to bring both parties to the table to get his bill passed.  He has some important Republican leaders on his side, and many believe that his role as lead of the Finance Committee will be the key to successfully passing reform legislation.

“I think I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he said in an interview in his office. “Here I am representing Montana in the United States Senate. I am at the point to be able to do something really significant, really meaningful, and it must be done.”

President Obama continues to toughen his stance on health reform. “We are going to have some different rules for all insurance companies, one of them being that you . . . can’t cherry-pick and just take the healthiest people.”  Health reform remains the overriding domestic priority for the Obama administration.  

Obama is open to discarding the public plan to reach a compromise on passing reform. He suggested Tuesday that he was open to a program that does not include a government-run plan to compete with private insurers.  

New Study Finds Most Kids Have No Place To Play

More troubling news that speaks to the growing childhood obesity epidemic plaguing our country just came out today. A new national study shows most U.S. kids don't have enough time or space to play every day.  

KaBOOM, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of our children, released a report that found 59% of the kids in our country don't have access to a playground. That number skyrocketed to 69% in the lowest income brackets.

Nine out of ten parents surveyed said their own children spend less time playing outside than they did when they were growing up.

First Lady Michelle Obama helped volunteers build a playground in San Francisco this week and spoke about the importance of playgrounds in helping children develop healthier habits. The Healthiest State Campaign has long fought to help keep our children healthy through events such as the Governor's Health Bowl and the Spring Training Challenge and through policies such as the legislation to promote coordinated school health in Washington state.

Public Opinion on Health Reform

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

  Health reform continues to make the news, and it’s really embedded in my brain now.  I had a dream about it last night:  that there were anti-reform commercials playing on TV.  Hopefully this is not a premonition of the future.  But it could be.

According to numerous national polls, most of us can now agree that reform is necessary.  But how will it work?  What will the details look like?  And what will the price tag be?

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has issued a new report on the public’s opinions on health care delivery system reform. 

“According to a new report by Jill Bernstein, Ph.D., better understanding of the public’s preferences could help policy-makers design, describe and market reform proposals. History shows that when the public does not understand specific proposals—or lawmakers do not fully understand public reactions to these ideas—interest groups are able to leverage public opinion to derail reform.”  Read the full report here: 

Preventive Oral Health Services Can Reduce Health Care Costs

Guest Blogger: Washington Dental Service Foundation

Recently, President Obama cautioned that, without reform, the U.S. healthcare system “may go the way of GM, paying more, getting less, and going broke.” 

One way for a reformed health system to get more, while paying less, is to ensure the provision of dental services.  An ever-growing body of research links poor oral health to preterm, low birth weight babies and a number of chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease, pneumonia, and rheumatoid arthritis.  An emerging category of this research connects regular, preventive dental care with significantly reduced costs for the management these chronic medical conditions.

A study completed by CIGNA found that providing ongoing treatment for gum disease for patients with chronic disease saved money on their medical care expenses.  The savings were significant—on average, $10,142 annually for stroke patients and $1,418 per year for diabetes patients.

A study completed by University of Michigan School of Dentistry using data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan found that overall medical and pharmacy costs can be more than 10% lower for patients with diabetes who receive regular gum care.  The cost of diabetes-specific care was as much as 19 percent lower for people who received gum care.

While preliminary in nature, these studies demonstrate the importance of including oral health in any plan for health reform that aims to reduce medical costs. 

Washington Dental Service Foundation is drawing attention to the prevalence of oral disease, its consequences, and the need for solutions by policy makers through its Citizens’ Watch for Oral Health Coalition.  Join the Coalition in expressing that oral health is essential to overall health.

Momentum Stalls in Health Reform Efforts

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

The sun has left the skies of Seattle. At the same time, it seems the excitement and enthusiasm around health reform has also left the floors of D.C..

Bring back the sun! Hopefully, that will recharge the health reform movement which seems to be struggling to get out from under dark clouds at the moment. The debate is getting messy, and although this was predicted, it is still difficult to watch as the the cooperation we witnessed a few weeks ago begins to slip away. 

Just look at a few of the headlines and articles from the RWJ Daily News Digest today:

• Partisan Ire Surfaces as Senators Start Work on Health Bill
• A Health Care Reality Check Slows Congress
• Poll:  Many Worried about Paying for Health Care

“Whether or not health-care reform actually passes in the end, this may be remembered as the week when the reality of the challenge such a massive overhaul poses finally dawned on lawmakers. And the reality is this: It’s all about the dollars.”

Let’s hope we get some blues skies, and some forward progress, soon.  We need it.

An Ounce of Prevention is…..Missing

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

The saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  And it is.  It is common sense, and a top priority of the Healthiest State Campaign’s health reform effort.  As we like to say around here:  “Health reform, without prevention, won’t reform health.”

Senator Edward Kennedy’s health reform bill was just released, and although it briefly mentions prevention, it needs much more in order to work effectively and create true change. We need more.  We want more!  And by "we", we mean the American people.  According to a recent poll by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans named prevention as the top health reform priority. 

What can you do to make a difference?  Contact your legislators.  Tell them your stories.  Check out the Organizing for America website and get involved in local events.  Together, we can make Washington the Healthiest State in the Nation.  Together, we can reform health.....and make sure prevention is a major part of that reform!