Colorado’s spending for public-health programs – $14.93 per person – ranks it in the bottom third of the nation, according to a survey by a public health advocacy group.
The average for state public-health expenditures in 2005 was $35 per person, the Washington, D.C.-based Trust for America’s Health said.
Hawaii had the largest expenditure, $123 per capita, and Nevada the lowest, $3.76 a person, the study said.
“We aren’t systematically connecting the funding with the needs and priorities,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of the trust. “We need to start spending smarter.”
Colorado fared only slightly better in getting federal disease prevention and bioterror funds – $18.29 per person, placing 30th, the study said.
The national state average per capita was $20.99.
Dr. Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer, disagreed with the study’s assessment.
Colorado gets a fair share of the most important grants, he said.
The state gets less money than others to fight tuberculosis, lead poisoning and hepatitis A, for instance, he said. But Colorado has comparatively low rates of those diseases.
“It may be that we are actually getting less money because we are healthier,” Calonge said.
Colorado’s rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension are also lower than national averages.
Calonge said he has taken issue with the trust’s research in the past.
In this case, Calonge said, the figures don’t include money made from Amendment 35, which passed in 2004 – increasing tobacco taxes to fund health programs.
The legislature also restored health funds this session after years of budget cuts, he said.
“The real strides we’ve made in the last year are not reflected,” Calonge said.
The study measured public- health money, which pays for things like prenatal care, immunizations and treatment for people without health insurance.
It is difficult to make state-by-state comparisons because funding sources and spending mechanisms are different in each state, said Dr. Richard Vogt, executive director of Tri-County Health department, which serves Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties.
Vogt said that, compared with Colorado, there are some states that “better invest in public health infrastructure.”
Vogt said he worked in Hawaii, which posted the highest per-person spending in the study. The payoff for that investment, Vogt said, was higher rates of immunization, and fewer low-birthweight babies – two areas where Colorado fares poorly.
“We were able to provide more services to individuals without insurance,” Vogt said.
The past few years, Colorado has ranked last or near last in the nation for vaccinating children.
In 2005, Nevada moved Colorado out of last place in childhood vaccinations, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2004, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens made a special allocation of $500,000 to provide vaccinations for children whose parents can’t afford them. Colorado now ranks 44th in vaccinations.
Staff writer Karen Augé can be reached at 303-820-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com.
