WISCONSIN (SPECTRUM NEWS)— Trust for America’s Health releases a new study that outlines the underfunding of public health.

According to a recent study by Trust for America’s Health, a non profit organization from Washington D.C., public health funding has been down for years. This study outlines the chronic underfunding on America’s Public Health system.

Its main findings are issues with funding for health emergencies, including the one we are all facing right now.

“Many years of underfunding have left the public health sector crippled in its attempt to respond effectively to the many different and growing risks to the American public,” Trust for America’s Health CEO, John Auerbach said.

John Auerbach is the CEO with Trust for America’s Health and he says funding to the CDC, the main driver of federal public health funding has decreased over time.

 

“The CDC’s funding over the last ten years has trended downward when we factor in inflations. States also have been cutting funds as have local communities. Since 2008 for example, we have lost more than 60,000 public health jobs across the nation,” Auerbach said.

Now what does this mean for the state of Wisconsin? Auerbach says Wisconsin is one of the lower states out of the entire US in terms of funding for public health.

“We looked at per capita funding for public health state by state. We found that Wisconsin was at the bottom. It was number 47 out of 50 states. That was an indication that the state has not provided enough funding per capita as other states in the country,” Auerbach said.

Auerbach says he hopes amid a public health crisis like the coronavirus, additional funding for infrastructure would be considered to help get through things like this, natural disasters, and other health related issues in the future.

To see the full study released, click HERE.