Over 200 Public Health and Health Organizations Urge Congress to Support the Prevention and Public Health Fund as the Nation Faces Growing Public Health Threats

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time of increasing healthcare costs and uncertain funding for public health, the Prevention and Public Health Fund (Prevention Fund) is more important than ever. A guaranteed source of funding for public health programs, the Prevention Fund has invested more than $13.5 billion in every state and territory to improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in healthcare costs.

Recently, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congresswoman Doris Matsui introduced the Public Health Funding Restoration Act which would restore the Prevention and Public Health Fund to its original $2 billion allocation as established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under its original allocation, the Prevention Fund should have risen to $2 billion by FY 2015. After multiple cuts over the years, the Prevention Fund will not reach that number until FY 2030, a full fifteen years later than intended. In total, the Prevention Fund has been cut by $12.95 billion over FY 2013 – 2029.

Again, the Prevention Fund has been proposed as a possible offset as part of the FY25 budget reconciliation process. Yet, support for the Prevention Fund remains strong. Last week, 200 organizations joined TFAH in sending a letter to congressional leaders urging them to avoid further cuts to the Fund.

Proven Track Record of Success

While the majority of its investments are at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Prevention Fund also supports programs at the Administration for Community Living and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for suicide prevention, Alzheimer's disease prevention, falls prevention, and chronic disease self-management.

Prevention Fund-supported programming has been shown to reduce the significant healthcare costs associated with chronic disease in the United States. For example, The Tips from Former Smokers campaign, aimed at encouraging smoking cessation, helped 1 million smokers successfully quit between 2012 and 2018, prevented an estimated 129,000 early deaths, and saved roughly $7.3 billion in smoking-related healthcare costs. In addition, the Diabetes Prevention Program has saved $1,146 per participant in related healthcare costs. Both programs are either partially or fully supported by the Prevention Fund.

The Prevention Fund also keeps the nation prepared against emerging threats. With experts raising concerns over the spread of H5N1 bird flu, the Prevention Fund supports CDC's National Immunization Program as well as epidemiology and laboratory capacity grants in every state and U.S. territory to detect and investigate outbreaks and prevent further infections.

Maintaining support for the Prevention Fund is critical as the United States navigates rising chronic disease costs, higher rates of suicide, and decreasing life expectancy. Continued cuts will only impede the nation's ability to protect communities.

For more information on how the Prevention Fund helps safeguard health and economic security in every state visit  https://www.tfah.org/prevention-and-public-health-fund-at-work/.

SOURCE Trust for America's Health