Local Public Health Agency Funding

In Brief Local public health agencies are funded federal, state, and local revenue sources. There is a common belief that increases from one source will be offset by decreases in others, as when a local agency might decide it must increase taxes in response to lowered federal or state funding. This study tests this belief through a cross-sectional study using data from Missouri local public health agencies, and finds, instead, that money begets money. Local agencies that receive more from federal and state sources also raise more at the local level. Given the particular effectiveness of local funding in improving agency performance, these findings that nonlocal revenues are amplified at the local level, help make the case for higher public health funding from federal and state levels. The study measures the appropriateness of funding levels, including measures of program need, effectiveness, or even ability to provide services through alternative sources using data from Missouri local public health agencies (LPHAs). The findings indicate that Missouri LPHAs receiving higher federal and state funds generate higher levels of local revenues. These findings that nonlocal revenues are amplified at the local level, help make the case for higher public health funding from federal and state levels.