Prevention: Saves Money. Improves Lives.

Dr. Bias

“Daily I manage diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure … I encourage weight loss and smoking cessation … I screen for cervical, colon, and breast cancer, all while giving regular vaccinations to continue to prevent communicable diseases,” Travis Bias, DO, a Pflugerville family physician told members of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) today. “I see what is and what is not working with our public health system.”

Dr. Bias, representing the Texas Medical Association, Texas Pediatric Society, and Texas Association of Family Physicians asked LBB members to support the Texas Department of State Health Services proposed 2014-15 budget, including additional requests for funding to address costly and threatening public health concerns such as obesity and mental illness. He cautioned members that additional budget cuts could harm Texas’ already fragile public health infrastructure.

TMA outlines why investing in prevention saves money and lives in its legislative roadmap, Healthy Vision 2020: Caring for Patients in a Time of Change. The state must invest in its public health infrastructure, especially now. Public health in Texas is tied to the viability and stability of our state economy. If we do not protect our workforce from infectious and preventable disease, ultimately the state’s income will suffer. A strong public health system is insurance against the things we know destroy economic systems: instability, lost work time, and unnecessary expenditure of resources.