Gov. Kemp’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 provides Georgia’s state public health system with $370 million in state general funds, a $13.8 million or four percent increase above current funding. Over half (about 54 percent) of those state general funds will be allocated to the 159 county health departments. The budget proposal includes a $2,000 cost-of-living increase for full-time staff and an increase in funds for the expansion of pre-exposure prophylaxis services to prevent new HIV infections.
By the Numbers
Amended Fiscal Year 2023 Budget
- No changes
Fiscal Year 2024 Budget
- About $13.7 million to provide a $2,000 cost-of-living increase for full-time, benefit-eligible employees of the Department, the 159 county health departments, and the Department’s attached agencies
- An increase of $931,111 to expand pre-exposure prophylaxis services in District 1-1 (Rome), District 2-0 (Gainesville), District 9-2 (Waycross), and District 10 (Athens)
- About $1.5 million to reflect the Super Speeder fee revenue that supports the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission’s trust fund[1]
The State’s Public Health System Continues to Rely Heavily on Federal Funding
About half of the total budget for the Department comes from federal funding, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grants; and various grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, in November 2022, the Department received about $100 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a five-year grant that will be spent on a statewide electronic health record for county health departments and to support the workforce at the state and county levels.[2]
The remaining funding for the Department’s total budget comes from unspecified ‘other’ funds and from state funds, including $370 million in state general funds, about $13.8 million in Tobacco Settlement Funds, $1.9 million in Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Funds, and about $15 million in Trauma Care Trust Funds.
Years of disinvestment in public health have left our state reliant on federal funds to tackle some of our most pressing public health issues like maternal mortality. However, federal funds are generally time-limited and often come with prescriptive spending requirements. These mandates complicate the Department’s ability to respond nimbly and creatively to shifting community needs. The state must apply lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in Georgia’s core public health foundation—including real-time and actionable public health data systems and a diverse, trained workforce.[3] With strategic investments, there is an opportunity to leverage the state’s unique 159-county public health footprint to better protect against future health threats and create the conditions where all Georgians can achieve optimal health.
End Notes
[1] The Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission is considered an attached agency of the Georgia Department of Public Health. Georgia Department of Public Health. (2023). Attached agencies and participating councils. https://dph.georgia.gov/about-dph/general-information-about-dph/attached-agencies-and-participating-councils
[2] Oliviero, H. (2022, November 30). Georgia DPH says final amount in new CDC funding is just under $100 million. Atlanta Journal Constitution. https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/cdc-to-give-georgia-more-than-115-million-for-public-health/GJSB62MZI5FPDBMRNELAWULKGQ/
[3] Armooh, T., Barton, T., Castillo, G., Cinnick, S., Clark, S., Giles-Cantrell, B., Gorenflo, G., Hoagland, G.W., Horneffer, G., Pardal, A., Parekh, A., Pham, T., Resnick, B., Rice, S., Sellers, K., Shirley, L., & Wu, K. (2021, December 2). Public health forward: Modernizing the U.S. public health system. Bipartisan Policy Center. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/public-health-forward/
