Public Health Funding Prevents Pandemics Act
Bill: S.571 | Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Public Health Funding Prevents Pandemics Act
This bill increases annual funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund for FY2022-FY2027. This fund supports prevention, wellness, and public health activities carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services, including researching and tracking public health threats.

To fully fund the Prevention and Public Health Fund and reaffirm the 
    importance of prevention in the United States healthcare system.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Health Funding Prevents 
Pandemics Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Prevention and Public Health Fund (section 4002 of 
        the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-
        11)) was designed ``to provide for expanded and sustained 
        national investment in prevention and public health programs to 
        improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in private 
        and public health care costs''.
            (2) Funding under such section is essential to core efforts 
        at the Department of Health and Human Services and in State, 
        local, Tribal, and territorial health departments to prevent 
        and control the spread of infectious disease and prevent 
        injuries and the development of chronic conditions.
            (3) Prevention and Public Health Fund dollars support 
        evidenced-based investments in tobacco use prevention and 
        cessation, nutrition, mental health, childhood lead poisoning 
        prevention, elder care initiatives, and immunizations, among 
        other prevention initiatives. Funding gives States and 
        communities the flexibility to respond to public health threats 
        that may be unique to their communities and bolsters the State, 
        local, Tribal, and territorial response to global public health 
        threats, including COVID-19.
            (4) Such prevention efforts have shown to be effective. 
        Funding increases for community-based public health programs 
        reduce infant deaths and preventable deaths caused by cancer, 
        diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Every dollar spent on 
        prevention saves nearly $6 in health spending and every dollar 
        spent on childhood vaccines saves $16.50 in future health care 
        costs.
            (5) Investments in prevention reduce the cost of health 
        care in the United States. $2,900,000,000 in investments in 
        community-based disease prevention is estimated to save 
        $16,500,000,000 annually within 5 years.
            (6) Cuts to the Prevention and Public Health Fund and other 
        public health prevention efforts undermine efforts to create an 
        affordable and accessible health care system, and a better 
        quality of life for Americans.
            (7) Cuts to the Prevention and Public Health Fund endanger 
        the ability of States and localities to distribute vaccines and 
        public health information successfully. The Prevention and 
        Public Health Fund is critical to the growth of the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention's immunization program under 
        section 317 of the Public Health Service Act and to the 
        Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity program.
            (8) Restoring Prevention and Public Health Fund funding to 
        $2,000,000,000 annually will allow the Fund to invest in more 
        innovative, evidence-based public health programs and maintain 
        and expand investments in programs with demonstrated success.
            (9) Restoring Prevention and Public Health Fund funding to 
        $2,000,000,000 will give the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention and State, local, Tribal, and territorial health 
        departments the funding that they need to invest in prevention 
        efforts that will help the United States avoid future pandemics 
        and epidemics.

SEC. 3. PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUND.

    Section 4002(b) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300u-11(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end ``and''; and
            (2) by striking paragraphs (5) through (9) and inserting 
        the following:
            ``(5) for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
        $2,000,000,000.''.
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