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Per Capita Public Health Spending measures the dollars per person
that are spent on public or population health in a state.
This measure is new to the report in this Edition and together with Percent
of Health
Dollars for Public Health are a replacement for the earlier measure, Support for
Public Health Care. High spending on population health programs are indicative of
states that are proactively implementing preventive and education programs targeted
at improving the health of all populations within a state. Current public health spending
may include considerable amounts of funding designated for homeland security efforts.
It is too early to know the effectiveness of these expenditures on the health of the overall population.
Table 28 displays the 2004 ranks, based on 2001 data (National Association of State
Budget Officers). It ranges from a high of more than $150 spent per person for public
health activities in Alaska, Minnesota and Texas to a low of under $15 spent per person
in Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina and Idaho.
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