APIC Sounds Alarm Over Proposed Cuts to Necessary Public Health Funding

Arlington, Va., September 22, 2023 – The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is concerned that proposed cuts to public health funding will erode progress made to strengthen public health infrastructure and will leave our nation ill equipped to confront the next infectious disease threat.

Public health and prevention accounts for only a small fraction of the more than $4 trillion in annual U.S. healthcare costs. When federal, state, and local public health budgets are severely cut, agencies can’t conduct necessary disease surveillance, build scalable public health laboratory infrastructure, nor build and train a responsive public health workforce. 

In a prior report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined in stark terms the multiple ways in which healthcare safety deteriorated during the pandemic. APIC also issued a report on lessons learned from the pandemic: Between a Rock and Hard Place, March 2022 – APIC.  

“Though we have identified a number of lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality is that rolling back public health funding will not allow us to learn from these experiences and implement desperately needed change,” said 2023 APIC President, Patricia Jackson, RN, MA, CIC, FAPIC.   

As we invest in our armed forces to keep our nation safe, so too must the U.S. invest in the CDC and public health programs to ensure they have the resources necessary to keep our citizens safe from infectious diseases. 

Founded in 1972, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is the leading association for infection preventionists and epidemiologists. With more than 15,000 members, APIC advances the science and practice of infection prevention and control. APIC carries out its mission through research, advocacy, and patient safety; education, credentialing, and certification; and fostering development of the infection prevention and control workforce of the future. Together with our members and partners, we are working toward a safer world through the prevention of infection. Join us and learn more at apic.org.

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Media contacts: Liz Garman, egarman@apic.org; Aaron Cohen, aaroncohenpr@gmail.com