Yesterday the US Senate passed the FY19 Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. It would provide funding for health agencies for FFY19. The bill contains a continuing resolution through December 7, 2018 in case the House doesn’t take action on the bill in short order. Here’s a summary:
CDC: $7.9B which is an increase of $126 million from FY18. The bill creates a $50M infectious disease rapid response fund (but the funds only become available for use in the event of a public health emergency). The bill includes $10M to continue efforts to track children and families affected by the Zika virus and $5M to address infectious diseases related to the opioid crisis.
HRSA: $6.8B, a $107M increase from FY18. This funding includes a $26M increase for the Title V Maternal and Child Health block grant and a $12M increase for the Healthy Start program.
SAMHSA: $5.7B, which is a $584M increase from FY18. Sadly, the legislation maintains a prohibition on federal funds for the purchase of syringes or sterile needles but allows communities with rapid increases in cases of HIV and hepatitis to access federal funds for other stuff like substance use counseling and treatment referrals. The bill also includes $1.5B for the state opioid response grants.
The bill doesn’t include the bad policy riders that were in previous versions that would have eliminated funding for important reproductive health services (Title X).
You can read the bill’s text here, the committee report here, and a summary here.
