Jeffrey Levi, PhD, is Executive Director of Trust for America's Health, where he leads the organization's advocacy for a modernized public health system. Dr. Levi has authored reports and testified before Congress on disaster preparedness, environmental health, chronic disease and the obesity epidemic. He is also an Associate Professor at George Washington University's Department of Health Policy, where his research has focused on HIV/AIDS, Medicaid, and integrating public health with Americas healthcare system. He served as an associate editor of the American Journal of Public Health, and was Deputy Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. He has appeared as an expert commentator on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and Bloomberg TV.
Trust for Americas Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.
The country’s ability to respond to a pandemic flu outbreak or other health emergencies is light years ahead of where we were just a few short years ago. So far, the response to the H1N1 outbreak has been swift, visible, and appears to be highly effective. The Administration has displayed strong, coordinated leadership, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the White House conveying guidance and strategies based on the best expert advice for how to respond. Public health officials have been actively tracking the… Read more
We were encouraged today to see Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) say that prevention should be “the cornerstone of the health care system rather than an afterthought.” His plan specifically promotes grants that would implement evidence-based prevention programs in communities to improve Americans’ overall health. TFAH recently released a study that supports this idea with real evidence. Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities, found that a small strategic investment of $10 per person per year in proven community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking and other… Read more
The federal health agenda has become so dominated by managing the high costs and treatment of health problems, that preventing disease and helping Americans stay healthier get only a small fraction of attention and funding support. The current way the federal health agencies are structured and funded, they do not have the resources or jurisdiction they need to reach our national objectives for improving health. In particular, the public health service is underfunded, understaffed, and often uses out of date technologies to combat today’s modern health threats. The next Administration should appoint a Secretary of HHS who has a strong… Read more
Related Link: http://www.healthyamericans.org
