One of the biggest challenges in public health is securing funding for life-saving interventions. It is easy to envision a person saved in the E.R. or a person recovering with treatment from medicine prescribed, but what is the face of prevention? It is much more difficult point to someone who could have potentially been sick, but ultimately was not because of a successful public health program.

The federal budget cuts proposed this week will harm the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of Baltimoreans, including seniors, children, and people with chronic illnesses.

As I discussed on WYPR’s Midday with Tom Hall, cuts to Medicaid—which covers services that Medicare does not—could leave older adults without prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and hearing aids. Similarly, removing the enhanced federal match for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and capping reimbursement for CHIP services will limit the ability of children to get basic health services such as immunizations and treatment for asthma. 

Even though the administration is touting increases in spending to treat opioid use disorders, the proposed budget slashes funding for substance abuse prevention efforts, including the Community Mental Health Services Block Grants, a cut that targets the 70,000 Baltimore residents who receive publicly-funded services for substance use disorders and mental health needs. At a time when the opioid epidemic grows as a public health emergency, with unprecedented numbers of Marylanders dying from overdose, this proposal could deprive millions of the care that they need.

Funding for public health is essential to prevent the spread of disease and to save lives. This is especially true for Zika. On Tuesday, I joined partners across the city to launch our collaborative plan for Zika prevention as the summer months approach. The Zika virus is spread by mosquito bite or unprotected sex and is linked to serious birth defects. This year, we will distribute 6,000 Zika prevention kits to pregnant women, monitor for cases, and share information with our community as this quickly-evolving issue continues.

Baltimore has never taken a back seat to public health. We believe that we must go beyond the cost of an intervention and consider the cost of doing nothing. Providing for public health is the fiscally responsible, safe, and moral thing to do.

Sincerely,

Leana S. Wen, M.D., M.Sc.