For years, we have celebrated the steady decline of chronic disease deaths in the United States– but no longer.
New data show that while deaths from heart disease, some cancers, and strokes are still declining, the rate of improvement has slowed sharply compared to previous decades. Particularly alarming: the probability of dying from chronic conditions among younger adults (ages 20-45) is creeping upward, a signal that our health system and public policies aren’t doing enough to prevent disease early.
At the same time, the “Make Our Children Healthy Again” Commission released its report identifying key drivers of childhood chronic disease: poor diet, harmful environmental exposures, insufficient physical activity, and chronic stress. The report outlines 128 recommendations the Commission says are needed to address these drivers, “but the plan for how to execute it and the resources for how to get that done are actually going in the opposite direction,” says Susan Mayne, an epidemiologist at Yale University School of Public Health and former Food and Drug Administration official.
Planned cuts to Medicaid and medical research threaten to roll back decades of progress we have made in both the access and affordability of effective treatments. Medicaid is the backbone of preventive care for millions of children, people with disabilities, and low-income adults. With state-supported expansions of Medicaid to millions of working families, that basic level of insurance is the very foundation of chronic disease prevention.
For those already managing one or more chronic diseases, the next generation of diagnostics and treatments are only possible through research. Cuts to Medicaid and medical research funding will:
- Force families to skip preventive visits and screenings
- Delay treatment for chronic conditions
- Widen health inequities in already vulnerable communities
- Slow the next generation of diagnostic tests and treatment for chronic diseases
What You Can Do
The fight for chronic disease prevention isn’t abstract, it’s about whose lives are valued, whose kids get a healthy start, and whether our health system invests in prevention or pays the price later. You can:
- Raise awareness: Use social media, op-eds, and community forums to highlight the slowing decline in chronic disease deaths and the urgent need to protect Medicaid and medical research funding.
- Send a letter to your elected officials and urge them to preserve funding for Medicaid and protect and restore funding for medical research.
- Share your story and help policymakers see the importance of making investments in the health of everyone in our community.
Without action from your elected leaders, cuts to Medicaid and medical research will lead to a United States that has more younger people dying, more suffering and disabilities due to treatable diseases, and more communities falling further behind.