Advocates commend Gov for investing in prevention

Governor’s Budget includes $40 million for Statewide Health Improvement Program

ST. PAUL, Minn. (January 22, 2013) – Governor Dayton prioritized the health of Minnesotans today by including $40 million for the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) in his budget recommendations. “Governor Dayton’s $40 million recommendation more than doubles the current amount serving SHIP communities and is a tremendous step toward ensuring a statewide program,” praised Britta Orr, Executive Director of the Local Public Health Association – the lead organization in a broad coalition of SHIP supporters.

SHIP works to improve health by encouraging healthier eating and more physical activity, and by avoiding tobacco. Local communities implement research-based strategies such as adding sidewalks so people can walk more, bringing fresh local produce from farms to area schools, and helping employers introduce workplace programs to assist employees in quitting smoking. The long-term goal of SHIP is to improve the health of Minnesotans and reduce health care costs for all.

Though SHIP launched as part of Minnesota’s Vision for a Better State of Health, the bipartisan health reform package enacted in 2008, the program suffered significant cuts in the last Legislature. With $47 million originally allocated to ensure statewide reach with measurable results, funding was reduced to only $15 million in 2012-13. The number of grantees dropped from 41 representing all 87 Minnesota counties and nine tribal governments to 18 representing only 51 Minnesota counties and one tribal government. In short, SHIP went from serving all Minnesotans statewide to having limited reach.

“With rising health care costs and decreased quality of life due to chronic disease, Minnesotans cannot afford to fund anything less than statewide prevention through SHIP,” said Courtney Jordan Baechler, MD, Vice President of Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Allina Health – and American Heart Association volunteer, a key organization working with the SHIP Coalition.

The SHIP Coalition is a group of organizations working hard to ensure that SHIP is reestablished statewide for the benefit of all Minnesotans from a stable source of funding. The Coalition is comprised of local public health officials, physicians, health plans, and many other advocacy organizations.

Members of the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Coalition include the Alliance for a Healthier Minnesota, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the Association for Nonsmokers – Minnesota, the Association of Minnesota Counties, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, ClearWay Minnesota, HealthPartners, the Local Public Health Association, the Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support, the Minnesota Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Minnesota Medical Association, the Minnesota Public Health Association, the Minnesota State Alliance of YMCA’s, the MN Council of Health Plans, the Twin Cities Medical Society, and the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development, Health and Nutrition Programs.

The SHIP Coalition supports:

·   Sustainable, long-term, and adequate statewide funding for SHIP to address obesity and tobacco, the two leading causes of chronic disease.

·   Cutting edge and evidence-based Policy, Systems, and Environmental change.

·   Locally-based strategies that work in concert with statewide efforts to meet local community needs.

·   Health equity strategies that improve the health of all Minnesotans, eliminate health disparities, and create the optimal conditions for everyone to reach their full health potential.

For more information about the SHIP program, visit the MDH web site at: www.health.state.mn.us/ship.

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