The funds that allowed New York to identify the first case of West Nile virus and the money that provides defibrillators and training to rural communities may disappear if Congress approves the healthcare cuts proposed in President Bush’s 2007 budget. A Washington Post article examines the effects of the cuts, such as a loss of $1.5 million for defibrillators. "Coronary heart disease is the number one killer in the United States," says Vinay Nadkarni, spokesman for the American Heart Association. "(The defibrillators are) actually something we can arm ourselves with." Critics point out that some of the cuts may actually increase healthcare costs long term. In response to the proposed $12 million reduction in state grants to treat Alzheimer's patients and a $1.6 million cut in an Alzheimer’s education campaign, an Alzheimer’s Association spokesman says, "It costs Medicare three times as much to take care of somebody with Alzheimer's disease than not," he said. "If we could even just slow the progression of this disease, we could reduce the cost substantially.” And although the Bush administration underwrote the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center with $2 million in 2001 with great fanfare, the 2007 budget would eliminate the center’s federal funding.
