The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.-based professional organization for public health professionals in the United States. Founded in 1872 by a group of physicians, APHA has more than 25,000 members worldwide.
The APHA supports left-of-center policy goals across a wide range of issues with direct or tangential connections to public health, including the role of government in healthcare, gun control, climate change, and abortion access. The organization supports left-of-center goals regarding “health equity” and eliminating alleged systematic racism in society, and was the first major organization to declare racism a public health emergency after the death of George Floyd. The APHA conducts studies, surveys, and puts out statements to support its political goals.
The APHA consistently opposed the public health policies of President Donald Trump (R) through numerous open letters and court briefings.
Political Issues
From 1998-2013, bills endorsed by the American Public Health Association received support from Democratic U.S. Senators 88% of the time, compared to 21% from Republican U.S. Senators. [1]
Gun Control
The APHA supports increased gun control and considers gun violence to be a public health concern. [2] The APHA supports denying gun ownership for high-risk individuals, including alcoholics, the mentally ill, or those indulging in homicidal or suicidal ideation. The group also advocates for mandatory national background checks for firearms, and a ban on the sale and manufacture of certain rifles. [3]
Climate Change
The APHA supports increased government intervention to combat climate change, which it considers a public health concern. The organization signed a series of climate policy recommendations for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050, and encouraging non-white Americans to become involved in environmental policy decision-making. [4]
Race
After the death of George Floyd, the APHA became the first major organization to declare racism a “public health crisis.” [5] [6] The organization has stated that, “racism is a longstanding systemic problem in this country that must be dismantled through policy and practice changes and transformations, which must start with brutally honest conversations and assessments of our systems and structures” [7] and “At its core, racism and social injustice of any kind is a public health crisis.” [8] In October 2021, the APHA conducted an analysis of states, cities, and other organizations which declared racism a public health crisis and the actions they had taken to address it. [9]
The APHA is a partner in Rx Racial Healing, [10] a “methodology [that] works to eradicate the belief in racial hierarchy altogether” founded by APHA member Gail Christopher. [11]
In July 2019, Christopher gave a presentation to the U.S. Helsinki Commission as an APHA representative on the cost of racism in the United States, which she estimated at $2 trillion annually. She stated: “conscious and unconscious belief in a racial hierarchy fuels the reluctance of political leaders and policy-makers to acknowledge the inequities and devote adequate resources to addressing them,” and blamed the continuing costs of racism on the U.S. never hosting a truth and reconciliation commission. Christopher’s recommendation to the American government is to institute policies at all levels to overcome institutionalized racism, including reforms regarding “land use, zoning, housing and transportation policies, mortgage finance and resource development.” [12]
The APHA wrote a letter to President Joe Biden (D) recommending the immediate repeal of President Donald Trump’s (R) moratorium on racial and gender bias training in government agencies and federal contractors. [13]
Criminal Justice Reform
The APHA supports “moving toward the abolition of carceral systems” to reduce health problems associated with imprisonment. It does not have suggestions for alternative means of dealing with criminals, though the APHA supports government funding for research into alternatives and the enfranchisement of released prisoners. [14]
Abortion
The APHA supports legal abortion. It called the overturning of Roe v. Wade “a catastrophic judicial failure that will reverberate differently in each state and portends to jeopardize the health and lives of all Americans.” [15] The organization supports the decriminalization of self-induced abortions. [16]
Healthcare
The APHA supports a government-run single-payer healthcare system [17], including Medicare-for-all. [18]
Vaccine Mandates
In November 2021, the APHA endorsed President Joe Biden’s (D) vaccination mandate for large businesses through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. [19]
Consumer Debt
The AMPH supports government programs to reduce individual debt, including enhanced “consumer protection” and more access to low-cost loans. The organization claims that individual debt has a causal relationship with many negative health outcomes, primarily due to stress. The AMPH also claims that non-white individuals are more prone to individual debt due to systematic racism in American society, and therefore anti-racist policies [are] needed immediately to improve health equity, address centuries of racist lending policies, and contribute to a resilient economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.” [20]
Opposition to President Donald Trump
The American Public Health Association opposed President Donald Trump’s health care and other policies. In 2017, the APHA and other groups denounced President Trump’s executive order to limit the number of immigrants from numerous Muslim countries. [21]
In 2018, the APHA denounced budget cuts proposed by President Trump to the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [22]
In July 2019, the APHA and other organizations filed a “friend of the court” brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding State of Oregon, et al., v Azar, et al., which challenged an order issued by President Trump prohibiting physicians who receive certain federal funds from discussing some aspects of abortion with pregnant patients. [23]
In September 2019, the APHA and other organizations signed a “friend of the court” brief arguing against a “public charge” rule which would bring charges against illegal immigrants for using medical, nutritional, or housing government benefits. [24]
In April 2020, the APHA signed a petition advocating that President Trump reverse his decision to cease funding the World Health Organization. [25]
Also in April, the APHA and other organizations signed a statement urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to tighten its air particulate pollution standards after the Trump administration publicly refused to do so. [26]
In July 2020, the APHA and hundreds of other organizations signed a petition condemning President Trump for interfering with the Centers for Disease Control’s pandemic response policies. [27]
Also in July, the APHA was a signatory on an open letter denouncing President Trump for his derogatory comments towards National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci. [28]
In October 2020, the APHA denounced the herd immunity COVID-19 response strategy endorsed by some members of the Trump administration. [29]
Lobbying
According to OpenSecrets, American Public Health Association typically spends about $100,000-$150,000 per year on lobbying. In 2013, the organization spent over half a million, by far the most it has spent lobbying in any given year. [30]