Recession And Health Care Continue To Be A Bad Mix

This is an ongoing theme (see What's The Effect Of Recession On The Health Care Safety Net? from 1/08 and Recession And Children's Health Care – A Revisit from 11/30/08). Today's story in the NY Times brings the issue home:

As increasing numbers of the unemployed and uninsured turn to the nation’s emergency rooms as a medical last resort, doctors warn that the centers — many already overburdened — could have even more trouble handling the heart attacks, broken bones and other traumas that define their core mission.

However, as we have also written about, the nation's emergency rooms are full. More from the NY Times:

Even before the recession became evident, many emergency rooms around the country were already overcrowded, with dangerously long waits for some patients and the frequent need to redirect ambulances to other hospitals.

“We have no capacity now,” said Dr. Angela F. Gardner, the president-elect of the American College of Emergency Physicians, which represents 27,000 emergency doctors. “There’s no way we have room for any more people to come to the table.”

The story references one of two reports to be released today. This one is from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

In a report to be released Tuesday, her group warns that the nation’s system of emergency rooms is in “serious condition.” Dr. Gardner argues that any public discussion of overhauling the current health system must include the nation’s emergency departments.

The other important report released earlier today is from Trust For America's Health, which will review the 50 states and their readiness to deal with public health emergencies (guess what? the Emergency Room can't cope with everything - let alone basic every day needs.) The states have been hurt by the recession and can't use deficit spending to cope with local shortages and demands. The voluminous TFAH report concentrates on what the Feds can to do reduce public health inefficiences, but highlights in report card fashion what's missing at state level in regard to preparation efforts for a public health disaster. From TFAH:

"The economic crisis could result in a serious rollback of the progress we've made since September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina to better prepare the nation for emergencies," said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH. "The 25 percent cut in federal support to protect Americans from diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism is already hurting state response capabilities. The cuts to state budgets in the next few years could lead to a disaster for the nation's disaster preparedness."

We'll cover more about these reports this weekend, but the urgency is rapidly becoming emergency. That's what happens when you neglect prevention and only concentrate on cure. When Tom Daschle takes over at HHS, there'll be plenty to do in regard to public health. Let's not neglect the public health aspects of health reform while we work on the rest.

In the meantime, visit the TFAH site to see where your state stacks up.