Funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped by $580 million since 2010 and has not been offset by increases to state and local funding, according to an analysis released Thursday.
The findings, adjusted for inflation and published in an annual report by Trust for America’s Health, show that states and local governments have kept their investments flat since 2010, at $11.5 billion. When translated to per-person investments, the total is equal to an average of spending $31.62 per person.
“It is painfully clear that the decrease in federal spending has not led to higher state spending for public health,” said John Auerbach, president and CEO, of Trust for America’s Health. “Rather, the nation has doubled down on cuts at both levels, leaving us vulnerable to the next public health crisis. Cutting public health programs is shortsighted – and we will all pay the price over time.”
The federal government assists states in public health funding through grants, which vary widely across states, the report found. West Virginia received the lowest level of support, at $15.39 per person, while Alaska received the highest level, at $49.67 per person. The CDC’s overall budget in 2016 was $7.17 billion, which is equivalent to spending an average of $22.26 per person.
The report comes at a time when public health is facing more cuts. President Trump in his budget blueprint proposed cutting 18 percent from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, and a Republican bill to undo parts of Obamacare would slash the billion-dollar Prevention and Public Health Fund, which the CDC draws part of its money from.
Still, one aspect of Trump’s blueprint may gain steam on both sides of the aisle: a proposal to create a “Federal Emergency Response Fund” to respond to public health outbreaks such as Zika, which would prevent such funds from being held up in Congress. Trust for America’s Health recommended enacting such a proposal, though it warned that steady investment also was needed.
