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June 6, 2006
Dear Chairman Specter and Senator Harkin: As you prepare to mark up the FY 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriation bill, the undersigned members of the Friends of the CDC's NCHS stress the important and unique role the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) plays in healthcare research and delivery and urge you to increase funding for NCHS to $139 million. Without this additional funding, our ability to monitor the U.S. health care system will be placed at serious risk. Even now, NCHS does not have enough funding to purchase vital birth and death records for a full year; current funding will only pay for records through August. NCHS is the America 's principal health statistics agency, providing data to track our nation's health. These data on health insurance coverage, immunizations, teen pregnancy, diabetes, obesity, cholesterol, disability, HIT, emergency preparedness, medication use, patient safety, infant mortality, and life expectancy are needed now more than ever to better care for a growing elderly population, eliminate racial disparities in health care, and address the escalating costs of federal entitlement programs. Members of Congress, other policymakers, researchers, providers, public health professionals, health plans, businesses, and actuaries use these data to track major initiatives, set priorities, develop effective programs and messages, and evaluate outcomes. We ask that you provide $139 million for NCHS in FY 2007, an increase of $30 million over FY 2006 funding and the President's FY 2007 budget request. However, we strongly urge you to provide NCHS with an increase of at least $13 million more in funding to maintain its current capacity and ensure that national data resources remain in tact. Currently, NCHS is unable to absorb cost increases in survey operations without cutting into the size, scope, quality, and timeliness of its surveys. NCHS surveys are fielded and analyzed continually, with the largest share of appropriations devoted to daily data collection through household interviews, examination centers, and state vital records offices and health practitioners. With an increase in funding of $30 million, NCHS will be able to sustain current operations, and also, for example: • Expand data collection on prescription drug usage. NCHS data demonstrate that 45 percent of Americans used a prescription drug in any given month, while 18 percent used three or more; use among seniors is much higher. But these data are from 2002. With the full rollout of Medicare Part D this spring, new data on usage patterns are needed to evaluate the scope and effectiveness of this new entitlement program. • Conduct and expand the nursing home care survey to also include assisted living and hospice care. Such data on long-term care services have not been collected since 1999. With demographic shifts in the age of our population, as well as changes in where those requiring long-term care seek services, necessitate that we reinstitute the nursing home care survey. The data it yields will not only help policymakers understand where and how seniors are getting their care, but also the extent to which new tax incentives for long-term care are helping them access those services. • Accelerate technology change to improve overall health statistical data timeliness and accessibility while preserving the confidentiality of health information. Many vital statistics records-birth and death certificates-like medical records, remain in paper format. Paper records not only impede data collection and availability, but can also threaten personal identities and national security if they fall into the wrong hands. It is important that we not only invest in these data, but also to ensure the integrity of these data is not compromised and that these data are released to the public for timely analysis and dissemination. The Friends of CDC's NCHS are concerned that because of CDC's recent reorganization, data are not being shared with the public as soon as they are available. We recommend that the subcommittee encourage the agency through report language to make information, including data from its national surveys, accessible to the public in a timely manner. The recommended language is attached. The Friends of CDC's NCHS believe that our nation and its leaders need more and better data to guide policy and inform decision-making. Members of our coalition often provide policymakers with research and information on increasingly complex topics. We share the frustration of Members of Congress and congressional staff when they turn to us for answers we cannot provide due to a paucity of credible, timely, and valid health information. Fortunately, we can make investments to fill these information gaps and improve our ability to answer key policy questions. These enhancements to NCHS will add crucial functionality to the agency and create a more robust health statistics program. Again, we deeply appreciate the subcommittee's support for the CDC's NCHS in the past. We urge your support for an appropriation of $139 million, or at least $122 million, for this agency for FY 2007. If you have any questions, please contact coalition@academyhealth.org. Sincerely, American Association for Dental Research
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