WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 175 organizations issued a letter of support today to the President, the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to strongly support comprehensive health reform efforts, emphasizing the need to modernize and increase funding for disease prevention, wellness, and public health in the United States. The following is the text of the letter and a list of the organizations that have signed on in support of the letter:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100204/TFAHLOGO )

"Dear Mr. President/Senator/Representative:

In recent months, we have inched closer to something that has eluded us for decades -- comprehensive health reform. From the prevention, public health and health workforce provisions, to the insurance market reforms, to the expansion of coverage, we believe key elements included in both the House and Senate bills would represent a new direction for America's health care and public health systems.

As you determine the next steps this nation will take to advance the nation's health, the undersigned organizations urge that as you move forward, you will maintain the comprehensive nature of this reform package and enact legislation that ultimately promotes prevention and wellness, bolsters our health care and public health workforce, and expands coverage while controlling costs and reforming the insurance industry. Though the path ahead may be uncertain, we urge you to seize this opportunity to make a real difference in the way that this country delivers health.

In particular, in whatever vehicle you ultimately enact, we urge your continued support for the establishment of a dedicated funding mechanism for prevention and public health. As you know, both the House and Senate bills included mandatory funding for prevention and public health through a Prevention and Public Health Fund and a Community Health Center Fund (Senate bill) and a Public Health Investment Fund (House bill). The Senate-passed bill provides a combined $25 billion for its Prevention and Public Health Fund and Community Health Center Fund, and the House-passed bill includes a total of $33.9 billion for its Public Health Investment Fund. We strongly support inclusion of no less than the House-passed amount in the final bill. We also urge you to ensure that the final bill provides sustained investments of guaranteed funds for prevention and public health. Further, the bill should ensure that new funding will supplement, not supplant, our current investment in prevention and public health.

The opportunity that we have before us today -- to enact comprehensive health reform that emphasizes prevention and wellness, instead of just disease treatment -- may not come again for decades. Americans need strong leadership during these trying times. The unprecedented investments in wellness and prevention included in the House and Senate bills would help us to forge a new way forward by enabling us to build stronger, healthier, more resilient communities. Toward that end, we urge you to include a dedicated funding mechanism for prevention and public health in the final bill.

    1. Advocates for Better Children's Diets
    2. AIDS Action Council
    3. All Saints Home Care And Referral Services (CA)
    4. American Academy of Physician Assistants
    5. American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and
     Dance
    6. American Association for Health Education
    7. American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
    8. American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
    9. American Association on Health and Disability
    10. American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
    11. American College of Clinical Pharmacy
    12. American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
    13. American College of Preventive Medicine
    14. American Diabetes Association
    15. American Heart Association
    16. American Lung Association
    17. American Public Health Association
    18. American Social Health Association
    19. American Thoracic Society
    20. Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
    21. Association of State & Territorial Health Officials
    22. Arthritis Foundation
    23. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and
     Epidemiology, Inc.
    24. Association for Utah Community Health
    25. Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
    26. Association of Ohio Health Commissioners
    27. Association of Public Health Laboratories
    28. Association of Schools of Public Health
    29. Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors
    30. Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing
    31. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
    32. Beach Cities Health District (CA)
    33. Bi-State Primary Care Association
    34. Brooklyn Perinatal Network, Inc.
    35. Bryan County Health Department (GA)
    36. California Center for Public Health Advocacy
    37. California Primary Care Association
    38. Camden County Health Department (GA)
    39. Campaign for Public Health
    40. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
    41. Center for Adolescent Health & the Law
    42. Center for Science in the Public Interest
    43. CEO Services (NY)
    44. Chatham County Health Department (GA)
    45. Children's Dental Health Project
    46. Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
    47. Christian County Health Department (KY)
    48. CityMatCH
    49. Colorado Community Health Network
    50. Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health
     Service
    51. CommonHealth ACTION
    52. Community Action Partnership
    53. Community Catalyst
    54. Community Health Association of Mountain/Plains States
    55. Community Health Care Association of New York State
    56. Community Health Centers of Arkansas, Arkansas Primary Care
     Association
    57. Community Health Councils
    58. Community Health Partnership:  Oregon's Public Health Institute
    59. Connecticut Association of  Directors of Health
    60. County Health Executives Association of California
    61. Defeat Diabetes Foundation
    62. Delaware Center for Health Promotion
    63. Effingham County Health Department (GA)
    64. Faces & Voices of Recovery
    65. Family Cook Productions
    66. Family Voices
    67. Georgia Public Health Association
    68. Glynn County Health Department (GA)
    69. Hawaii Primary Care Association
    70. Health Education Network of Delaware
    71. Health Justice Network
    72. Health Officers Association of California
    73. Health Resources in Action, Inc.
    74. Hepatitis B Foundation
    75. Hepatitis Foundation International
    76. Home Safety Council
    77. Huron County Health Department (MI)
    78. Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators
    79. Illinois Primary Health Care Association
    80. Indiana Association of Public Health Physicians and Local Health
     Departments Organization, Inc
    81. Indiana Primary Health Care Association
    82. Infectious Diseases Society of America
    83. Institute for Public Health Innovation
    84. International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association
    85. Iron Disorders Institute
    86. Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved
    87. Kansas Association of Local Health Departments
    88. Kentucky Health Departments Association
    89. Kentucky Public Health Association
    90. KHMER HEALTH ADVOCATES, Inc
    91. La Fe Policy Research and Education Center
    92. Liberty County Health Department (GA)
    93. Local Public Health Association of Minnesota
    94. Long County Health Department (GA)
    95. Louisiana Primary Care Association
    96. Louisiana Public Health Institute
    97. Maine Primary Care Association
    98. March of Dimes Foundation
    99. Maryland Association of County Health Officers
    100. Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
    101. McIntosh County Health Department (GA)
    102. Mental Health America
    103. Michigan Primary Care Association
    104. Minnesota Association of Community Health Center
    105. Mississippi Primary Health Care Association
    106. Missouri Association of Local Public Health Agencies
    107. Missouri Primary Care Association
    108. Monroe County Public Health Department (MI)
    109. National Alliance of Multi-ethnic Behavioral Health Associations
    110. National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors
    111. National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health
     Association
    112. National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
    113. National Association for Sport and Physical Education
    114. National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
    115. National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc.
    116. National Association of County and City Health Officials
    117. National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
    118. National Athletic Trainers' Association
    119. National Center for Healthy Housing
    120. National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
    121. National Coalition of STD Directors
    122. National Council of Asian and Pacific Islander Physicians
    123. National Environmental Health Association
    124. National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
    125. National Health Equity Coalition
    126. National Network of Public Health Institutes
    127. National Nursing Centers Consortium
    128. National Nursing Network Organization
    129. National Recreation and Park Association
    130. National REACH Coalition
    131. National WIC Association
    132. Nebraska State Association of County & City Health Officials
    133. Nemours
    134. New Jersey Association of County Health Officers
    135. New Jersey Health Officers Association
    136. New Jersey Primary Care Association
    137. New Mexico Primary Care Association
    138. New York Academy of Medicine
    139. New York State Association of County Health Officials
    140. North American Quitline Consortium
    141. North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors
    142. North Carolina Community Health Center Association
    143. North County Health Services (CA)
    144. OCA: Embracing the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific
     Americans
    145. Ohio Association of Community Health Centers
    146. Oregon Primary Care Association
    147. Out of Many, One
    148. Partnership for Prevention
    149. Physician Assistant Education Association
    150. PolicyLink
    151. Prevention Institute
    152. Public Health Foundation
    153. Public Health Institute
    154. Public Health-Seattle & King County
    155. Public Health Solutions
    156. REACH Southeastern African American Center of Excellence for
     Eliminating Disparities
    157. Society for Adolescent Medicine
    158. Society for Public Health Education
    159. South Asian Americans Leading Together
    160. South Carolina Primary Health Care Association
    161. Special Services for Groups, Inc. - ALAS para tu Salud
    162. Special Services for Groups, Inc. - PALS for Health
    163. State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association
    164. Texas Association of Local Health Officials
    165. The AIDS Institute
    166. Thurston County Board of Health (WA)
    167. Trust for America's Health
    168. Tuscola County Health Department (MI)
    169. United Fresh Produce Association
    170. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
    171. Washington Association of Local Public Health Officials
    172. Washington Health Foundation- Healthiest State in the Nation
     Campaign
    173. West Virginia Primary Care Association
    174. Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards
    175. Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association
    176. YMCA of the USA"

Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org

SOURCE Trust for America's Health