[MMA News Now, September 1] The MMA is urging Minnesota’s U.S. Senators, Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, to vote against amendment 4531 to the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act. This amendment, which is being sponsored by Senator Mike Johanns, would slash most of the funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Prevention and Public Health Fund is slated to receive $15 billion over ten years.

This fund is the primary source of money for the implementation of public health efforts in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This legislation contains a strong focus on communitywide intervention, individual behavior modification, and disease prevention. The MMA believes that these things are a vital part of creating a strong public health system at the federal level, just as Minnesota has done at a state level with the passage of state health reform in 2008.

The letters to Franken and Klobuchar can be read here.