As part of the ACA, or Obamacare, the Prevention and Public Health Fund provides almost $1 billion annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The GOP bill would eliminate the Prevention and Public Health Fund starting in October of next year. She and other public health experts held a briefing at the Capitol on Tuesday on the growing threat of drug-resistant superbugs. State and local public health officials plan to meet with members of Congress and administration officials this week to make the case for continued investments in public health and prevention. Cuts in those funds, combined with potential federal budget cuts at the CDC and other health agencies, “could amount to a catastrophic year for public health funding,” according to a statement from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, which represents U.S. public health agencies.

Source: Washington Post March 08, 2017 13:03 UTC