Federal funding to states from public health from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) averaged out to only $19.23 per person in FY2009. The amount spent to prevent disease and improve health in communities ranged significantly from state to state, with a per capita low of $13.33 in Virginia to a high of $58.65 in Alaska. Approximately 75 percent of CDC's budget is distributed through grants or cooperative agreements to states and communities to support programs to prevent diseases and prepare for health disasters.State funding for public health ranged dramatically across the country, from a low of $3.55 per person in Nevada to a high of $169.92 per person in Hawaii.  The national median is $28.92 per person.  The structure of state and local health departments varies from state to state, with some states relying more on local funds.  

"Public health departments are responsible for finding ways to address the systemic reasons why some communities are healthier than others and for developing policies and programs to remove obstacles that get in the way of making health choices possible," Levi said.  "But right now, public health departments do not have the resources they need to improve health in communities.  Our ability to address the geographic and racial/ethnic disparities in health is limited by our failure to invest adequately in creating a modernized public health system."

SOURCE Trust for America's Health