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We cannot allow this opportunity to increase our public health funding in Indiana pass us by. As founding dean of the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, I feel it is essential that we prioritize the health of Hoosiers now.
Even though Indiana has a business-friendly tax climate, the state’s low health rankings contribute to higher health care spending, which is a deterrent to attracting new businesses and expanding existing businesses. Site selectors and businesses consider and evaluate a state’s investment in the health of its people when selecting locations for expansion.
When communities invest more in public health, they spend less on health care and live longer. Numerous studies have shown a substantial return on investment for public health funding.
However, Indiana’s public health system is chronically underfunded and undervalued. As a member of the Governor’s Public Health Commission, I was a strong advocate of the recommendations in the report that led to the creation of Senate Bill 4, which would ensure improved health outcomes and a return on investment for Indiana.
Indiana ranks 45th for state-provided public health funding. Hoosiers also experience higher rates of preventable diseases and injuries, as well as higher health care costs compared to other states. Life expectancy in Indiana is two years below the national average. The difference between the Indiana county with the highest life expectancy and the one with the lowest is almost nine years.
Indiana’s communities also receive less public health funding than do those in other states. In fact, Indiana’s county and regional health departments rely on local sources for the majority of their budgets, unlike most other local health departments in the U.S., which rely primarily on federal and state funding.
Reliance on local funding means under-resourced communities, which often have a greater need for public health services, have less funding and less capacity to provide those services. The national median for local public health spending is $41 per person. All but four of Indiana’s counties spend below the national 25th percentile of $23, and 37 counties spend less than $10 per capita.
According to America’s Health Rankings, an investment of $10 per person per year in evidence-based community programs has proven to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent smoking or other tobacco use. Investing 10 more dollars per person could save the country more than $16 billion annually within five years.
Investing in public health saves dollars now and lives later. In my role at the Fairbanks School of Public Health, I regularly talk with my colleagues about these challenges. Our consensus, informed by our long and varied careers, is clear: One of the best ways to propel Indiana to greater economic success is to build and fund a public health system that keeps our workers healthy and productive, our children thriving and our communities safe.•
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Halverson is dean of the Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University.
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Having been to Chicago and Boston recently, I think we might want to start with imporving the drinking water in Indianapolis and to the state. Lots of Iron and other chemicals in our drinking water that is harmful to Hoosiers as well as promotes bottled water purchases (which is harmful to our environment).