MPHA Issue Priority
Public Health Funding
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)
funds and operates a wide range of valuable disease prevention and treatment
programs. These programs save lives, prevent pain and suffering, reduce
costly medical expenses, and keep children in school and adults
at work.
MPHA is a leading advocate for increased funding for
school health services, immunization programs, the state laboratory,
and hepatitis C, in addition to supporting programs to prevent AIDS,
treat substance abuse, prevent smoking, prevent teen pregnancy, ensure
food safety, promote healthy indoor air, and operate public hospitals.
Beginning in 2001, DPH underwent devastating budget
cuts, with public health programs slashed by 28 percent over three years.
MPHA and its allies helped reverse these cuts and have boosted DPH’s
funding by $128 million over the past three years. But DPH funding remains
15 percent lower than in FY01, adjusted
for inflation.
Learn about other priority issues of MPHA.