U.S. Public Health Service

Overview

Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), eight agencies are designated as the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS).

The PHS agencies are funded primarily with annual discretionary appropriations. They also receive funding from other sources, including mandatory funds from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), user fees, and third-party reimbursements.

Source: Public Health Service Agencies: Overview and Funding (FY2016-FY2018)

Links to Agencies

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ):

Funds research on improving the quality and delivery of health care. For more than a decade prior to FY2015, AHRQ did not receive its own annual appropriation. Instead, it relied on redistributed (“set-aside”) discretionary funds from other PHS agencies for most of its funding, with supplemental amounts from the ACA’s mandatory Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (PCORTF). Since FY2015, AHRQ has received an annual appropriation in lieu of any set-aside funds. The agency’s FY2017 funding level of $417 million was $11 million less than the FY2016 level of $428 million.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

The federal government’s lead public health agency. CDC obtains its funding from multiple sources besides discretionary appropriations. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) investigates the public health impact of exposure to hazardous substances. ATSDR is headed by the CDC director and included in the discussion of CDC in this report. The CDC/ATSDR funding level decreased from $12.2 billion in FY2016 to $12.1 billion in FY2017.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

Regulates drugs, medical devices, food, and tobacco products, among other consumer products. The agency is funded with annual discretionary appropriations and industry user fees. The agency’s funding levels for FY2016 and FY2017 remained constant at about $4.7 billion, with user fees accounting for 41% of FDA’s total FY2017 funding.
- For Consumers: Updates and information for staying safe and healthy
- For Patients: Learn about other treatments, drug/device approvals, public meetings and more
- For Health Professionals: Medical product safety information, adverse event/problem reporting and more
- For Scientists & Researchers: NCTR, pediatrics, clinical trials, Critical Path Initiative and more
- For Industry: Guidance, registration and listing, pay user fees, import programs and more

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):

Funds programs and systems that provide health care services to the uninsured and medically underserved. HRSA, like CDC, relies on funding from several different sources. The agency’s funding decreased from $10.8 billion in FY2016 to $10.7 billion in FY2017.

Indian Health Service (IHS): Supports a health care delivery system for Native Americans. IHS’s funding, which includes discretionary appropriations and collections from third-party payers of health care, increased between FY2016 and FY2017 from $6.2 billion to $6.4 billion. Appropriations increased during that period, while collections stayed the same in both fiscal years.

National Institutes of Health (NIH): Funds basic, clinical, and translational biomedical and behavioral research. NIH gets more than 99% of its funding from discretionary appropriations. Recent increases in NIH’s annual appropriations have boosted its funding level to a new high of $34.1 billion in FY2017, compared with $32.3 billion in FY2016. Links to Institutes and Centers:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Funds mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services. SAMHSA’s funding, about 95% of which comes from discretionary appropriations, was approximately $3.8 billion in FY2016 and $4.3 billion in FY2017. Links to topics: