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Ohio ranks near bottom on public health funding

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By Tim Tresslar, Staff Writer 11:39 PM Friday, March 5, 2010

Nationwide public health spending by the federal government has flat-lined over the last five years, while state agencies have cut another $392 million in public health spending over the last year.

An analysis by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also found Ohio ranks near the bottom when it comes to state and federal spending on public health programs.

In fiscal 2009, Ohio ranked 45th in public health funding by the state, about $13.84 per capita, the study found. On the federal level, when it came to funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ohio received $13.52 per capita, pegging it 49th among the 50 states.

The study found the Midwest lagged other regions in fiscal 2009 in terms of federal funds provided for disease-prevention programs, receiving $16.50 per person. The northeast led the U.S. in this funding category, receiving $19.80 per person, or $3.30 more than its Midwestern counterparts. Western states received $19.22 per person, and Southern states were provided with $19.75 per person in federal funding.

Serena Vinter, a senior research associate for TFAH, said researchers weren’t able to pinpoint why the Midwest lags so far behind the rest of the country when it comes to CDC funding. But the gap is striking when one considers the health challenges such as obesity-related illnesses that Midwestern states such as Ohio and Michigan face, she said.

Public health agencies focus on disease prevention and emergency health preparedness. Funding woes have some local health commissioners worried they’ll have to cut staff, which they say can erode a community’s ability to deal with health emergencies such as the H1N1 flu virus.

“You have to have a minimal, basic capacity to be able to do these things on a communitywide level,” said Mark McDonnell, commissioner of the Greene County Combined Health District.

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