State Governments Slashing Local Health Department Budgets As Federal COVID-19 Aid Dries Up

KFF Health News (9/5, Rodriguez) reports, “Even as federal aid poured into state budgets in response to the covid-19 pandemic, public health leaders warned of a boom-and-bust funding cycle on the horizon as the emergency ended and federal grants sunsetted.” Now, KFF Health News says, “that drought has become reality and state governments are slashing budgets that feed local health departments.” Congress allotted over “$800 billion to support states’ covid responses, fueling a surge in the public health workforce nationwide.” However, “those jobs, and the safety net they provide for the people in the communities served, are vulnerable as the money dries up, worrying public health leaders – particularly in sparsely populated, rural areas, which already faced long-standing health disparities and meager resources.”