The AAMC Jan. 9 joined more than 300 other organizations on a letter urging House and Senate leadersnot to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund (the Prevention Fund), which is authorized under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The letter, organized by Trust for America’s Health, warns Congressional leaders of the “dire consequences” of repealing the Prevention Fund “without a corresponding increase in the allocation for the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bills,” adding that it “would leave funding gap for essential public health programs, and could also foretell deep cuts for other critical programs funded in the bill.”
In addition, the community letter highlights the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) receives 12 percent of its funding through the Prevention Fund, noting that repealing the Prevention Fund would be “disastrous” to the CDC budget and programs.
The Senate-approved FY 2017 budget resolution, which the House is expected to pass later today, sets in motion the process of repealing the ACA (See Related Story).