Funding - Government Funding Priorities, Where The Funding Goes, Healthy People 2010 Goals, Let's Get Moving

This chapter begins by looking at some of the issues dealing with federal funding of health research and development (R&D). Growth in funding for health R&D from 1953 to the present has exceeded the growth rate of defense R&D. Does the government spend the most money researching the biggest killers of our day? Or do "special interest groups" have some influence?

Next we take a look at some of the Healthy People 2010 goals. Since 1980, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released reports detailing healthy living objectives for the decade to come. One of the main goals in Healthy People 2010, is to increase healthy life expectancy. In the 20th century, we have accomplished this goal. In 1900, the average life expectancy was a little over 46 years — in 2000, 76.9 years. But, what can we do to live a healthier (not just longer) life? What is the federal government doing to encourage us?

The next three panels discuss some of the leading health concerns stated in the report Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. A 1993 study linked 14% of all deaths in the United States to a sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary habits. The percentage of obese people nearly doubled from 1990 to 2000. What is the government doing to encourage people to get moving? According to this report, "cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States." Is funding for tobacco control programs proportional to the prevalence of cigarette smoking? According to the 2000 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, in 1999, 14.2 million people aged 12 and older used illicit drugs and 44.6 million binged on alcohol at least once in the month prior to taking the survey. Over 1 million people were in treatment programs for substance abuse. What is the government's funding priority: prevention or treatment?

The last two panels examine funding of a different kind. Most medical students receive loans to pay for their education. Tuition, fees, and housing costs are rising and students are graduating with more and more debt. Is there anything being done at the government level to help graduates pay off this debt? The last panel examines medical malpractice insurance premiums. Doctors are leaving the profession or moving to other states where insurance premiums are lower, leaving doctor shortages in some parts of the country. What is causing the skyrocketing insurance premium rates? Is anything being done to bring rates down to affordable levels?