U.S. Public Health Warning: Cuts Will Kill Most Vulnerable

June 25, 2009 (LPAC)—"As the public health infrastructure struggles under the weight of the economic downturn, our nation is at risk of losing the major gains in life expectancy achieved throughout the last century," Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA) said in a release June 15.

The APHA released a new report June 15, the timely "Holes in the Net: Surveying the Impact of the Current Economic Recession on the Health Care Safety Net," which documents how the U.S. health care safety net is unravelling, including with the take-down of vital services at key safety-net hospitals, through state budget cuts. The cases cited included the Boston Medical Center, and the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. In San Francisco, Gregg Sass, CEO of the General Hospital Medical Center, announced that Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal to cut $26.7 billion from health care, will set back public health 10 years, and the victims will be the poorest among the population.