ACA Prevention and Public Health Fund: Uses and Recent Reductions

The Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148 and P.L. 111-152) authorized and provided a direct appropriation for the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF), beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2010. PPHF has been used to fund new programs included in health care reform and enhance funding for a number of existing programs. Increasingly, PPHF is being used to supplant, rather than supplement, federal funding for programs. Moreover, the recently enacted Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (payroll tax agreement, P.L. 112-96) reduced the fund by $6.25 billion in FYs 2013-2021.