The following editorial was written by Bloomberg Opinion:
An unprecedented strain of bird flu is spreading among dairy cattle in the U.S. An outbreak of a flesh-eating bacteria has infected more than 1,000 people in Japan. At least 13 communicable diseases including measles, dengue and polio have surged past pre-pandemic peaks in regions across the world.
The threat of COVID-19 may have subsided, but myriad public health challenges have emerged in its wake. So far, none pose as serious a risk. Yet the U.S. public health system is woefully underprepared for another pandemic.
Once-reliable sources of funding have lapsed amid partisan theatrics. The health care workforce, after four years of intermittent crisis, appears depleted and demoralized. To its credit, Congress managed to pass pandemic preparedness legislation in 2022. But absent adequate appropriations, many of its far-reaching ambitions — from strengthening the pharmaceutical supply chain to modernizing data collection — will remain unrealized.
Fighting off the next pandemic will require lawmakers to set priorities. A good place to start would be the nation’s long-underfunded and often overlooked primary care sector.
Primary care is often a patient’s first point of contact with the health system. It includes preventive measures, such as blood pressure and cancer screenings, treating common illnesses and managing chronic diseases.
Early primary care interventions also save money. The average cost of a trip to the emergency room is 16 times higher than a visit to the doctor. Health officials in Oregon determined that a $1 increase in primary care spending was associated with $13 of savings for other services, including emergency department, inpatient and specialty care.
Yet the U.S. still invests far less on primary care as a percentage of health spending than other rich nations, even as the demands of an aging population grow. Per-capita costs remain among the highest in the world, with some of the worst health results.
The primary care workforce has also been slow to recover, largely thanks to recruitment challenges that predate the pandemic. The industry expects a shortage of up to 40,000 primary care doctors by 2036.
The U.S. needs to narrow these gaps before the next pandemic. For starters, Congress should extend commonsense telehealth provisions that are set to expire, including allowing Medicare beneficiaries to receive such services in their homes. It should also support programs that encourage more people to seek primary care. Finally, it should pass bipartisan legislation that aims to rebuild the workforce, including through targeted loan forgiveness for primary care doctors and funding for nurse training.
A stronger primary care system won’t prevent the next pandemic. But strengthening the nation’s frontline defenses will save money and lives — and help keep outbreaks at bay.
