Public health expenditures: developing estimates for improved policy making

The Public Health Foundation (PHF), under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service (PHS), worked with federal, state, and local public health, mental health, substance abuse, and environmental agencies in nine states to develop and successfully test a methodology for estimating investments in essential public health services. Estimates from the nine-state sample revealed the predominance of personal health expenditures in the public health system. Of total state health care dollars, only 1 percent was spent on population-based health services by participating agencies. This pilot provides a rational starting point toward a uniform methodology for highlighting public health expenditures that may be critical in revealing the effects of a changing health care environment on the nation's health. In combination with other data, results are expected to lead to a more informed policy-making process.