http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/296/nation/Fear_testing_drain_health_department_budgets+.shtml

Fear, testing drain health department budgets

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff, 10/23/2001 The anthrax attacks, hoaxes, and scares of the last few weeks have already racked up millions of dollars in public health costs nationally, according to officials who said they are just beginning to tally the costs.

An informal survey of state public health departments found that they expect to spend an average of $1 million to $5 million each on anthrax-related issues in the next three months, with some spending as much as $33 million, according to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

''Many jurisdictions are telling me that they have run out of a year's worth of budget already,'' said Mohammad Akhter, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

As thousands of calls come in from a worried public, the workload is straining the resources of public health agencies unaccustomed to dealing with such a threat.

Costs include collecting suspicious material, testing it, and treating people who have been exposed to the dangerous bacterium.

''Some of these labs had never done an anthrax test before, and now they are working round the clock,'' said Akhter. ''Nobody ever budgeted in their labs for this kind of demand.''

Officials said that responding to each anthrax call may cost between $300 and $1,500. At the federal testing center at Ft. Detrick, Md., just determining whether a substance is anthrax costs about $500, according to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetss, who was briefed there yesterday.

Ft. Detrick, Kennedy said, had tested 19,000 samples so far, many from the House and Senate office buildings where anthrax was found last week.

Kennedy said he plans to introduce a bill this week seeking $4 billion to $6 billion above the $1.5 billion already requested by the administration to respond to bioterrorism. A significant portion of the additional money would be earmarked for state and local health agenices and laboratories.

''The public health departments are in a very weak position,'' Kennedy said. ''The response so far has been very good, but if this gets broader or we had a surge of cases ... We need to rebuild the public health system.''

So far, there has been one confirmed death from inhalation anthrax in Florida and two suspected deaths in the Washington, D.C., area. In addition, there are nine other cases of anthrax in Virginia, Florida, New York, and New Jersey and 28 cases of anthrax exposure at the Capitol.

While no anthrax has been found in Massachusetts, health officials have conducted more than 500 tests of suspicious materials since mid-October. The cost to the state Department of Public Health may already be $150,000, said Paul Jacobsen, deputy director.

That rough estimate doesn't include the time and expense of dispatching hazardous materials teams from local police and fire departments.

The Boston Public Health Commission has spent $90,000 sending ambulances and emergency medical personnel in response to fears of bioterrorism, according to John Auerbach, executive director. He projects additional costs of $650,000 by the end of the fiscal year for emergency response and education, if public concern remains as high.

In New York City, a public health spokeswoman said the department has been too busy to begin to assess the cost of the response, including nasal swab testing of 1,500 people.

City and county health agencies across the nation have spent as much as $100 million already, estimated Thomas L. Milne, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

An informal email survey of state health departments conducted by the association of state health officials asked for estimates of the amount of unbudgeted spending to date, plus expected spending over the next three months. About half the states responded.

The lowest estimate was $360,000, and the highest was $33 million, said George Hardy, executive director of the association. Most were in the rante of $1 million to $5 million, he said.

''This was a rough and dirty survey that gives us an idea of the trend,'' said Hardy, who declined to identify the projected spending of individual states. ''It's clear the state and local infrastructure is being tested and does need to be strengthened, if we're going to continue to respond in the way the public wants us to.''

At state laboratories, which are conducting much of the anthrax testing, many staff members have been diverted from other duties to work overtime on the threat of bioterrorism, said Dr. Mary Gilchrist, president of the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

Last year, she said, the US Centers for Disease Control provided $8.3 million to 81 labs for staff, equipment, and supplies to counter bioterrorism. This year, the association is asking for $125 million in emergency funding.

Likewise, the American Public Health Association is calling for an outlay of $1 billion for state and local health departments and $500 million for the CDC.

''We needed this yesterday,'' Akhter said. ''This is an issue of national security.''

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

Answers

That reminds me. With all these appropriations and a failing economy, it's a safe bet that there will have to be a tax increase, I can't see any other choice. It might be on the local and state level, but increases will HAVE to be made. Another reason to get your stash together as soon as you can. Wrong, there is another choice: Cuts in services other than health and defense and/or user fees.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

As the security gets better at airports, travel will pick up, I think. That will help the economy, but may be too late to do the cities any good.

It is amazing how heavily the country relies on travel for income, isn't it?

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

The prohibition against Internet tax has sunsetted, and I don't believe that Congress has corrected that yet (it has just been in the past few days). That's one area where a state might jump at the opportunity to seek more income.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

right Brooks. But the tax would be on purchases, not on access.

The prohibition ended Sunday.

Can a state legislature move that fast? Haven't ever seen that before!

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

Re net tax. NC has already jumped. Last year there was a new provision--you had to estimate what you spent on net purchases and pay the tax.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

OG, most states already had that. but no one really does it. do they?

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

My mips um mealed.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001