National Partnership Urges Congress to Confirm Daschle as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
Group Cites Commitment to Consensus-Based Solutions to Fight Chronic Disease
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 10, 2009) - The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) today urged leaders in Congress to confirm former Senator Tom Daschle as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Throughout his career, and in recent work with the PFCD, the Senator has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving chronic disease prevention and management, and has highlighted consensus-based strategies to restructure the U.S. health care system.
In June 2008, Daschle delivered the keynote address at a chronic disease symposium cosponsored by the PFCD and the Emory Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions. In his remarks, Daschle emphasized the importance of consensus based policy solutions that keep Americans healthy. Click here to watch Daschle's keynote address.
Daschle’s first confirmation hearing took place on Wednesday, January 8 with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Chronic Disease Fast Facts:
- Chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, account for 75 percent of every health care dollar spent in the U.S.
- The annual economic impact on the U.S. economy of the seven most common chronic diseases is calculated to be $1.3 trillion, which could balloon to nearly $6 trillion by the middle of the century.
- Chronic diseases are the number one cause of death and leading driver of rising health care costs in America. These are conditions that, with proper early intervention, diet, and exercise, could be prevented, delayed, or minimized.
- More than 130 million Americans today have a chronic disease.
About the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease:
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is a national coalition of patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups, and health policy experts committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs in the U.S.: chronic disease. For more information about the PFCD and its partner organizations, please visit: http://www.fightchronicdisease.org.
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For more information about the PFCD and its partner organizations, please visit: http://www.fightchronicdisease.org.
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