Public Health Groups Decry Potential Elimination of the Prevention and Public Health Fund in Senate Bills

Joint Statement from American Public Health Association, Prevention Institute, Public Health Institute, Society of Public Health Education, and Trust for America’s Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate is expected to soon vote on a ‘skinny’ repeal bill that would target key components of the Affordable Care Act—including potentially eliminating the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

This short-sighted move would cause long-term damage to our nation’s health. If the Prevention and Public Health Fund is eliminated, the pain of these cuts will be felt across the country, reverberating in every state and community. Over the next five years alone, states stand to lose over $3 billion in funding they rely on to prevent chronic disease, halt the spread of infections and epidemics, and invest in the community resources that support health and equity. It would cut the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 12 percent.

In the lives of individuals and communities, strong public health infrastructure makes the difference between health and illness, safety and injury, life and death. Slashing public health and prevention funding would increase preventable suffering and death, make the poorest and sickest communities fall even further behind, and leave our country far less prepared for and capable of responding to public health emergencies. The undersigned groups find this vision of the future unacceptable, and stand for prevention and public health.