CDC awards more than $49 million to strengthen State and local health departments

Affordable Care Act Grants Will Create Jobs and Improve Quality of Care, Public Health

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today awarded $49 million in grants, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, to improve the quality of health care and strengthen the public health infrastructure. Awarded to all fifty States, the grants strengthen State, local and territorial health departments’ capacity to perform critical epidemiology and laboratory work, detect and prevent healthcare-associated infections and support immunization programs. This is double the spending for the same programs in 2010.

“Investing in public health is a key part of the Affordable Care Act. It helps transform our nation’s health care system from one based on when people get sick to one that prevents disease in the first place,” said Sebelius. Read the full release...