NACDD experts Dr. Jeanne Alongi, Director of Public Health Practice, John W. Robitscher, Chief Executive Officer, and Liz Ruth, State Policy Analyst, published a blog in the preeminent health policy journal, Health Affairs, this month on “Confronting The Health Debt: The Impact Of COVID-19 On Chronic Disease Prevention And Management.” The article examines the origins of the health debt, the critical role of state public health agencies in dealing with this issue, and it offers an agenda to address the current health debt and to prepare for the next pandemic and its consequences.

“Health debt is the accumulated impact of changes in health behaviors during the pandemic that will have long-term negative effects on health. Americans have accumulated an enormous health debt over the past 14 months due to delayed or missed preventive screenings, delayed treatment of existing diseases, forgone chronic disease management activities, and changes in health behaviors that have a negative impact on health (for example, increased alcohol consumption and reduced physical activity)…”