Election 2008 Update: October 2, 2007
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is a coalition of more than 80 patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups, and health policy experts who have come together to raise awareness of the policies and practices that save lives and reduce health costs through more effective prevention and management of chronic disease. The PFCD highlights what we all know:
“The ‘unhealthy truth’ is that chronic diseases—long-lasting, often preventable and treatable illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and depression—are the #1 cause of death and disability in the U.S., and the #1 driver of rising healthcare costs.”
The National Council and its members have been on the forefront of recognizing serious and persistent mental illness as a chronic, manageable disease that can respond well to care management approaches, such as medical homes. We have carried our message to the PFCD as an active coalition member, and the PFCD has responded.
The PFCD released its policy platform on September 25, urging decision makers to “Promote proven approaches to greater coordination of care and integrate the primary care provider more completely into the care management process to increase quality and efficiency.” The PFCD has noted that 75 cents of every dollar spent on healthcare — $1.5 trillion of $2 trillion in 2005 — is to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and depression.
"Hold these presidential aspirants accountable," says Richard Carmona, a former U.S. surgeon general and chairman of PFCD. "Ask them questions that go far beyond the usual platitudes of political persons, but in-depth questions about their understanding of chronic disease, the burden it relates to in our nation — both economically and disease-wise. And if elected, what are they going to do specifically to address these issues?"
Because of the National Council’s participation, the PFCD platform includes the following example of care management:
- The IMPACT model for Collaborative Depression Care, the largest controlled trial of disease management for depression, was more than twice as effective as usual care for depression in a wide range of primary care settings. The collaborative care program lowered the incidence of depression for different populations (e.g., African Americans and Latinos, arthritis patients, patients with diabetes) while also lowering total health care costs over two years.
You can download the full PFCD policy platform at http://www.fightchronicdisease.org/pdfs/PFCD_FullPlatform.pdf
The PFCD has received extensive news coverage, including CNN and the Washington Post. The candidates are hearing the message—several have quoted PFCD materials in their healthcare statements and a few have explicitly endorsed the PFCD’s message.
PFCD is looking for people willing to join speakers’ bureaus in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. If you are interested, please contact Tammy Seltzer, Director of State Policy, at 301-984-6200, ext. 234, or tammys@nccbh.org. As speakers or hosts are needed in other states, we will let you know.
The National Council has partnered with other mental health and addictions recovery organizations to form the Whole Health Campaign, which is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of mental health and addictions recovery in healthcare. The Whole Health Campaign includes a broad spectrum of mental health and addictions organizations, such as the Legal Action Center, the Johnson Institute, NAADAC (formerly the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors), National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), and the Campaign for Mental Health Reform.
The Whole Health Campaign is finalizing a policy platform that will be shared with the presidential campaigns and our grassroots. On September 10, more than a dozen National Council Association Executives provided feedback on the draft platform, and many of their comments will be incorporated into the final draft. The National Council is working with the Whole Health Campaign to develop an elections toolkit for our members.
The Whole Health Campaign will target the candidates’ health policy directors to discuss their health care plans and how mental health and addictions recovery are addressed in these plans. We will also be looking for other creative ways to engage the candidates on our issues, including issue-specific conference calls or virtual town meetings, as well as hosting forums in early primary states.
