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Health care costs can be dramatically lowered if the public is protected from deadly and costly public health dangers. Most of these require little or no public funds, have a positive impact on local economies, and have been put in place in numerous cities and states around the country. This section discusses model policies and provides resources for banning smoking in public places, banning toxic chemicals for consumer products, listing calories on restaurant menus, and banning trans-fats from food production.

Preventing Loss of Medicaid Drug Rebate Funds for States

Jul 01, 2010

While the new Affordable Health Care law provides a variety of funding opportunities for states, one provision in the health law that could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government. Under the National Medicaid Drug Rebate Program created by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, drug manufacturers are required to enter into agreements that provide rebates for Medicaid purchased drugs, establishing a 15% minimum level of rebates. Up until now, the rebates were divided between the states and the federal government. But under the new health reform law, a significant portion of the rebates will go solely to Washington beginning this year.
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Food Policy and Security: from Farm to Table and Classroom

Oct 13, 2009

Even as Congress debates increased funding for the federal food stamps program and nutrition aid, this Dispatch will outline the steps states are taking on a wide array of policies that impact working families in urban centers and on rural farms, from food safety and regulation to access to local foods to improving health and nutrition in our communities.
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Maryland E-Health System to Combat Swine Flu Outbreak

Aug 27, 2009

The August heat may be as intense as ever, but government and health officials across the country are preparing for the coming flu season and the possibility that the H1N1 (swine) flu virus could affect half the US population, according to a presidential health panel. In Maryland, state government, public health officials and the state's 46 hospitals have created a statewide computerized system for tracking the disease, which will help government and health officials mobilize a quick response in the event of an outbreak.
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Reforming Sex Education to Prevent Sexually-Transmitted Diseases

Apr 16, 2009

Even as Planned Parenthood, MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation team up in a campaign to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STD), state legislatures are acting to ensure students' access to comprehensive sex education and are rejecting federal funding for failed abstinence-only programs. Half of all sexually active people will have an STD by the age of 25 with 19 million new STD cases occurring each year. These statistics highlight the need for improving youth sex education.
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