$1B slash for disease fight

The House GOP health-care plan would wipe out a $1 billion fund that finances disease-prevention and wellness programs across the country.

The impacted programs include:

$324 million to increase vaccines/child immunization.

$160 million to address foodborne and waterborne illnesses.

$126 million for antismoking initiatives.

$73 million for heart-disease and stroke prevention programs.

$72 million for diabetes prevention.

$60 million for infectious-disease control.

$51 million to improve chronic disease conditions in minority communities.

It also would scrap $17 million for lead-poisoning prevention, $14.7 million for Alzheimer’s disease prevention and outreach, $12 million for state youth suicide-prevention programs, $8 million for breast-feeding promotion and $5 million for community programs to help reduce falls among older adults.

The cut is offset by an additional $442 million earmarked for community health pro- grams under the GOP’s proposed American Health Care Act.

Much of the money in the “Preservation and Public Health Fund” was administered by the Centers for Disease Control.

New York State Health Foundation CEO David Sandman said it would be foolish to eliminate funds for prevention.

“This is the money we look to attack public-health crises like the Zika virus and the growing problem of opioid addiction,” Sandman said.