On April 27, 2021, COPAFS signed onto a letter thanking LaborH Subcommittee leadership for supporting our nation’s public health workforce and systems during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also advocates for the Subcommittee to appropriate at least $250 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 towards the public health Data Modernization Initiative (DMI). It is signed by organizations representing patients, public health professionals, health information technology developers, health care providers, researchers, and scientists.
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Chair, House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Tom Cole
Ranking Member, House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Patty Murray
Chair, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Roy Blunt
Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chair Murray, Ranking Member Blunt, Chair DeLauro, and Ranking Member Cole,
Thank you for your leadership and support for our nation’s public health workforce and systems during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to respond to COVID-19 and prepare to address the next emerging public health threat, the undersigned organizations representing patients, public health professionals, health information technology developers, health care providers, researchers, and scientists urge you to appropriate at least $250 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 towards the public health Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The DMI is a commitment to building the world-class data workforce and data systems that are ready for the next public health emergency. We are grateful to Congress for providing nearly $1 billion to date for CDC’s DMI through annual and supplemental appropriations. Now, we need robust, sustained, annual funding to complete the foundational investment of $1 billion and to ensure we are investing in public health systems and infrastructure, including at state and local health departments, that will keep pace with evolving technology.
The DMI is helping to create a standards-based interoperable public health infrastructure, ensuring all systems can communicate and share data seamlessly with one another; advancing standards so that information can be stored and shared across systems; and facilitating complete and timely reporting so that our public health system has essential data on race, ethnicity, pregnancy status, treatments, and co-morbidities that are critical for achieving equity in public health response.
We urge you to continue to prioritize public health data modernization at CDC by allocating at least $250 million in FY 2022. Rapidly evolving technology demands that public health keep pace with advancements by continually upgrading data systems and ensuring cybersecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown starkly that public health has fallen behind over the past decade because of eroding infrastructure in data science and information technology. We cannot allow our foundational investments to become obsolete—we must build upon them and provide adequate sustained resources for public health to develop, implement, and maintain the data systems and technologies needed to train the next generation of data scientists. A robust, sustained commitment to transform today’s public health surveillance will ultimately improve America’s health and security.
Thank you for your consideration of these important issues. If you have questions, please contact Meghan Riley at mriley@dc-crd.com.
Sincerely,
Aledade, Inc.
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Dental Research
American Association on Health and Disability
American Brain Coalition
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Clinical Laboratory Association
American College of Clinical Pharmacy
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Epilepsy Society
American Health Innovation Management Association (AHIMA)
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
American Medical Association
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Nutrition
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
American Sociological Association
Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Population Centers
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Big Cities Health Coalition
Care Analytics Group, LLC
Caring Ambassadors Program, Inc
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy University of Minnesota
Cerner Corporation
Community Solutions
Connected Health Initiative
Consortium for State and Regional Interoperability
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS)
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Data Coalition Initiative
Entomological Society of American FND Hope
Health Innovation Alliance
Healthcare Leadership Council
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
HIV Medicine Association
HLN Consulting, LLC
Hope for HIE Hydrocephalus Association
Infectious Diseases Society of America
International Essential Tremor Foundation
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
ISF, Inc.
Lakeshore Foundation
Leidos
March of Dimes MQ Foundation NASTAD
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS)
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Birth Equity Collaborative
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Rural Health Association
National Safety Council Parkinson’s Foundation
Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation
Population Association of America Premier, Inc.
Prevent Blindness
Public Health Foundation
Public Health Informatics Institute a Program of the Task Force for Global Health
Research!America Resolve to Save Lives Ruvos
SAS
Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance
Seattle Indian Health Board
Spina Bifida Association
The American Neurological Association
The Bee Foundation
The Black Women’s Health Imperative
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)
The Gerontological Society of America
The Immunization Partnership
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Researc
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Trust for America’s Health
University of Washington
University of Washington Center for the Study of Demography and Ecology
University of Washington, College of Education
Washington State Department of Health
WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease