KHI News Service
TOPEKA, Jan.
10
Tobacco control issues are at the top of the list for the
Kansas Public Health Association
in 2007.
In addition to supporting laws to prevent smoking in public places
and, separately, on hospital campuses
the association would like to see efforts to improve insurance coverage for smoking cessation medication, said Kimber Richter, chairperson of the association”s Legislative Action and Issues Committee.
“That medication doubles the quit rates,” she said. “In Kansas, those who are on
Medicaid
have better coverage than people with private insurance. That”s shameful.”
The association also supports using more money from the
Master Settlement Agreement
between the state and tobacco companies for health-related programs. The money is now mainly used for children”s health and social services and other programs as designated by the
Children”s Initiative Fund (.pdf).
Kansas has received $400 million from the settlement to date; $1 million each year has been allocated for tobacco control programs.
Also on the
association”s
priority list:
*Asking agencies to push for more federal health funding. Other states receive
more federal money per capita than Kansas
which should be a priority to help leverage federal dollars for public health in Kansas, Richter said.
Simply put: more money should be spent on public health in Kansas.
*
Regionalizing public health efforts: A long-term goal to create multi-county health departments could improve health education; response to emergencies; and more efficient use of resources. The Kansas Hospital Association, for example, relies on its regions to coordinate bioterrorism responses among local health departments and other public health agencies.
“There are some networks in place now,” Richter said. “Building on those would be a good idea.”
The public health association also plans to follow Senate Bill 1, which would outlaw the use of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in some vaccines. Some parents of autistic children believe thimerosal is linked to their children”s medical conditions.
The legislation was introduced late last year. At that time, the association took a neutral stance. The bill has been pre-filed; the association will take another look at it this year before deciding what stance to take, Richter said.