Health4all : 2009 Municipal Public Health Legislation and Budget Requests

Health4all

Every year more Alaskan families lose health insurance and can't afford health care. Every year more families with health insurance cannot afford to use it because of expensive out-of-pocket charges. Every year more Alaskan elders with Medicare are refused treatment by local physicians. And every year health care in Alaska continues to cost 30 percent more than down south. These problems are a reflection of the crisis across the nation. Not surprisingly, the United States ranks last in preventable deaths compared to 14 Western European nations. We have a lot to talk about.

Lawrence D. Weiss retired from UAA in 2004 as a research professor in public health. He designed and built the Master of Public Health program at UAA, and has published three books and numerous articles on public health and health policy issues. He completed a post-doctoral degree at Harvard School of Public Health in 1982, and has been in Alaska ever since. His favorite expression is "facts matter." Occasionally he can be found in a local pub drinking beer and eating pizza while engaged in passionate conversation with friends.

2009 Municipal Public Health Legislation and Budget Requests

Posted by health4all

Posted: February 24, 2009 - 2:44 pm

The 2009 Anchorage Municipal Legislative Priorities have now been posted on the web by the Office of Management & Budget. There are two health-related legislative requests worth mention. HB 207 aims to reduce both the cost and labor burden of facilitating consent for participating in school-based surveys. This will help provide more vital information about youth behavior used to drive programs and initiatives. SB113/HB 190 would ensure break time for employees to breastfeed infants.

Requests for public health budgets have also been posted. Public Health Capital Budget Grant Requests include:

$9,000,000 Public Health Facility Replacement/Remodel
$2,000,000 Alaska Recovery Center
$6000,000 Anchorage Compost Facility Cleanup/Remediation
$2,750,000 Five Sanitary Sewer Lift Stations Upgrade
$17,600,000 Hillside Water Transmition Main
$4,500,000 Hiland Road Water Intertie Phase 2 & 3
$4,000,000 Goldenview Reservoir (2 Million Gallons)
$2,500,000 Eagle River Wastewater Treatment Facility - UV Disinfection Upgrades
$5,000,000 Asplund Wastewater Treatment Facility - Generator- Electrical Room and Scada Upgrades

Public Health Operating Budget Grant Requests include:

$4,000,000 Direct Funding for Women, Infant and Children Supplemental Food Program Services for State of Alaska
$100,000 Senior Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan for the Municipality of Anchorage
$2,000,000 Alaska Immunization Program
$300,000 Homeles Management Information System
$150,000 Local Area on Aging Demonstration Project
$70,000 Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Funding
$100,000 Heroin Addiction Treatment Gap Funding

For a full listing of legislative priorities and copies of the requests for both the capital and operating budgets, click on the following link:http://www.muni.org/omb/2009Legis.cfm

For more information on the municipality's legislative priorities, contact:

Sarah Grosshuesch
Public Health Educator
Department of Health and Human Services
Municipality of Anchorage
(907) 343-4698 phone
(907) 343-4004 fax

posted by K.L., ACPP Project Coordinator