State Category: New Mexico

New Report Examines State Policies that Support Good Health and Analyzes the Legislative Landscape for their Implementation

Federal cuts to health promoting programs will require that states and community partners innovate and work across sectors to protect and advance residents’ health

 

(Washington, DC – December 17, 2025) – Federal actions that cut funding and lead to program eliminations throughout government will slow the implementation of state-level policies that promote health, concludes a new report, Advancing Policies that Create Conditions for Good Health: Opportunities, Barriers, and Strengths, released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH). These program changes will create gaps that states and cross-sector partnerships could help address through support for collaboration and innovation.

The report is the newest in TFAH’s Promoting Health and Cost Control in States (PHACCS) report series highlighting evidence-based policies and programs states can pursue to improve residents’ health and reduce healthcare spending. Population-level health is influenced by a variety of social and economic factors, such as housing access, food affordability, the built environment, and workplace policies. The PHACCS Initiative, launched in 2018, identifies evidence-based policies that states can implement to promote residents’ health and create economic return on investment.

This new report considers these policies in the current legislative landscape, based on input from advocates, service providers, and government staff across different jurisdictions and policy areas. It analyzes how the changed legislative environment is impeding policy action and what new innovations and cross-sector collaborations are needed to create or protect policy momentum.

“The nation’s public health infrastructure has been changed in consequential ways that will impact states and communities across the country. These changes, including funding cuts and the elimination of effective programs, risk reversing progress in improving Americans’ health,” said J. Nadine Gracia, M.D. MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “In order to fill some of these gaps, state-based organizations and policymakers are developing strategies to support health promoting policies, particularly in communities with the greatest need.”

The report is organized into three sections which encourage states and cross-sector partners to continue their work promoting good health in every community by sharing information, evidence, and innovative strategies.

“Leaders within policy areas supported by the PHACCS initiative continue to leverage strategies that help advance policies in ways that uniquely fit their states despite fiscal constraints created by the current budget environment,” said Breanca Merritt, Ph.D., Director of Policy at Trust for America’s Health. “This report identified recent progress and policy wins using these approaches, including bipartisan and community-driven efforts within multiple states.”

The first section, Creating Conditions for Good Health: A Changing Policy Environment, outlines federal policies that have supported states in advancing health promoting programs, as well as recent federal policy decisions and state actions that limit states’ ability to do so.

The second section, Creating Conditions for Good Health: What’s Working for States, summarizes input from advocacy organizations and government partners collected during national and regional level convenings. During the convenings, participants discussed effective strategies for advancing health promoting policies in states as well as barriers to their implementation.

The last section of the report, Creating Conditions for Good Health: Progress and Highlights of PHACCS Policies reviews trends in state-level adoption within policy areas highlighted by PHACCS, including:

  • Universal pre-kindergarten programs
  • School nutrition programs
  • Drug overdose and infectious disease prevention strategies, including harm reduction
  • Smoke-free policies
  • Tobacco and alcohol pricing strategies
  • Complete Streets policies
  • Housing rehabilitation and rapid re-housing programs
  • Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Earned employee sick leave
  • Paid family leave
  • Fair hiring practices

These policies have shown strong or emerging evidence for their ability to improve health and can offer return on investment for states that implement them. In the coming years, states and their community partners should strive to collaborate even more closely to support their implementation.

 

 

Statement from J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health on Changes to CDC Webpage on Vaccines and Autism:

(Washington, DC – November 20, 2025) – “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website has been changed to promote harmful, false claims about vaccines and autism. The science is clear: vaccines do not cause autism. Using a federal platform to promote disproven claims is a violation of public trust that jeopardizes vaccine confidence, undermines prevention efforts, and puts communities at risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks. These myths contribute to needless illness and suffering.

Parents, patients, healthcare providers, and public health practitioners depend on CDC as a trustworthy source of verified, accurate scientific information.  Trust for America’s Health calls upon the CDC to restore the previous, science-driven vaccine webpages.”

 

 

The Number of People in the U.S. Serving as Informal Caregivers is Growing, Yet Support and Assistance for Them is Shrinking, According to New Policy Brief

Public health agencies can play vital role in supporting caregivers

(Washington, DC – September 30, 2025) – As the percentage of older adults continues to grow in the United States, so do the number of people providing informal caregiving to them. A new policy brief highlighting the role of caregivers, published by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) today, finds that many people who provide unpaid, informal caregiving are experiencing increasing levels of economic, emotional, and physical hardships as a result. The brief highlights the many roles that public health agencies can play in supporting caregivers and that more federal and state interventions are needed to support this growing segment of the population.

The brief, Public Health’s Roles in Supporting Informal and Family Caregivers, reports that 41.8 million people served as a caregiver to an adult over the age of 50 in 2020, an increase of over 7 million people who provided unpaid care to a family member or friend in 2015.

“The prevalence of caregiving in the U.S. has grown exponentially more complex,” said Megan Wolfe, senior policy development manager at TFAH who leads its Age-Friendly Public Health Systems initiative. “As more jurisdictions work to be age-friendly communities, having a nuanced understanding of the role and challenges facing caregivers will allow public health organizations to work with community partners to advocate for and provide the support caregivers need.”

The caregiving population is a diverse one, with about 40 percent of caregivers being individuals of color (17 percent Hispanic or Latino, 14 percent non-Hispanic Black, 5 percent Asian American and Pacific Islander, and 3 percent some other race/ethnicity, including those who identified as multiracial), according to the brief.

Women that serve as caregivers and caregivers of color face greater financial stress and physical demands that can impact their health, including experiencing depressive symptoms and feeling ignored or difficulty navigating healthcare systems.

TFAH’s Age-Friendly Public Health Systems (AFPHS) provides guidance for public health practitioners on the policy and systems changes that are needed to advance healthy aging and build supportive communities. This includes programs and activities that support caregivers, including better availability and easier navigation of caregivers’ supports.

The brief provides recommendations for the roles of public health that are aligned with the AFPHS Framework, including:

  • Advocate for changes to the workplace to create supports for caregivers including leave policies and employment protections.
  • Help create cross sector initiatives that support older adult and caregiver needs.
  • Work with the healthcare sector to ensure that healthcare providers understand and can refer caregivers to non-clinical support resources in their communities.
  • Collect data on the experience of caregivers and help communities design programs that meet their needs.
  • Model the use of culturally appropriate communication strategies that recognize the diversity of the caregiving population.
  • Create programs that provide caregivers with the tools they need to care for themselves and their care recipients.

TFAH’s Age-Friendly Public Health Systems initiative is made possible with generous support from The John A. Hartford Foundation.

To learn more about the Age-Friendly Public Health Systems initiative, visit Age-Friendly Public Health Systems – Trust for America’s Health (afphs.org)

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Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public health policy, research, and advocacy organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and works to make the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan, national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. The leader in the field of aging and health, the Foundation has three areas of emphasis: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. https://www.johnahartford.org/

Nuevo análisis El presupuesto de los CDC se reduciría en un 53 % si se adopta el presupuesto propuesto por la Administración para el año fiscal 2026; más de sesenta programas de los CDC quedarían eliminados

Los programas estatales y locales de salud pública y preparación se verán considerablemente afectados

(Washington, DC – 18 de septiembre de 2025) – Los departamentos de salud en estados y localidades de todo el país están enfrentando severas reducciones presupuestarias debido a los recortes federales, recaptura de fondos, despidos y congelamiento de contrataciones, y reorganizaciones, tanto actuales como propuestos. Estas acciones debilitarán considerablemente el sistema sanitario y la preparación y respuesta ante emergencias de la nación y pondrá en peligro la salud y la seguridad económica del país. Estas son las conclusiones de un nuevo informe, Public Health Infrastructure in Crisis: HHS Workforce Cuts, Reorganizations, and Funding Reductions: Impacts and Solutions (“La infraestructura sanitaria en crisis: Recortes de personal del HHS, reorganizaciones y reducciones de financiamiento: impactos y soluciones”) publicado hoy por Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), una organización sin fines de lucro y apartidaria dedicada a la investigación y las políticas en materia de salud pública.

El informe, que incluye un análisis original de TFAH, calcula los impactos de las reducciones presupuestarias y de personal y las reorganizaciones hasta la fecha, así como también los cambios adicionales propuestos, y resalta las siguientes conclusiones:

  • El presupuesto plateado por el Presidente para el año fiscal 2026 para los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) asciende al 53 % de reducción en comparación con el año fiscal 2024. Esta cifra refleja los recortes propuestos para los CDC y su hermana, la Agencia para Sustancias Tóxicas y el Registro de Enfermedades (ATSDR). Estas reducciones están pendientes de acción en el Congreso.
  • Además, dentro del recorte total propuesto, el Programa de Preparación ante Emergencias de Salud Pública de los CDC enfrenta una reducción de fondos del 52 %.
  • En total, el presupuesto presentado recorta poco más de la mitad del financiamiento para los CDC y la ATSDR y restaura alrededor de un cuarto de los fondos perdidos hacia dos divisiones del HHS recientemente creadas: la Administración para una América Sana y la Oficina de Estrategias.
  • Más de 100 programas de salud pública y líneas de financiamiento serían eliminadas bajo el presupuesto presentado por el Presidente para el año fiscal 2026, incluidos 61 programas de los CDC y 40 programas de la Administración de Salud Mental y Abuso de Sustancias. Entre los programas en riesgo de eliminación están los de prevención de cáncer, diabetes, enfermedad coronaria y accidente cerebrovascular; los de prevención de la obesidad; los de prevención del VIH/SIDA, tanto nacionales como internacionales; los de inmunización global; y los de recuperación y prevención del uso de opiáceos y otras sustancias.
  • La reorganización propuesta para las agencias del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los Estados Unidos (HHS) reduciría en un 16 % la cantidad de personal que trabaja en programas de salud pública, incluso contando la creación de la Administración para una América Sana que se ha propuesto.
  • Este año la rescisión de fondos ya aprobados recapturó 12 000 millones de USD en subvenciones de la época de la covid-19; fondos que además de apoyar la respuesta a la pandemia estaban destinados a reforzar la infraestructura de salud pública más allá de las necesidades creadas por la pandemia, como el monitoreo de enfermedades infecciosas, la capacidad de laboratorio, la preparación ante emergencias y los servicios de salud mental.

El informe se concentra en los cambios en los CDC y otras agencias del HHS debido a su rol central en el apoyo de los programas de salud pública y la respuesta a crisis a nivel estatal y local. Alrededor del 80 % del presupuesto interno de los CDC va hacia estados, localidades, tribus y organizaciones tribales, sistemas de salud y actores comunitarios para apoyar iniciativas de salud pública estatales y locales. Los fondos federales representan cerca de la mitad de los presupuestos de los departamentos de salud estatales y locales, por lo que los recortes en el gasto federal son recortes en los presupuestos de salud pública.

“Los grandes cambios que ocurren en las agencias federales de salud pública afectan a todas las comunidades y tienen impacto sobre la vida de toda la ciudadanía. Los departamentos sanitarios estatales y locales, que están en la primera línea de protección de la salud de sus residentes, dependen del gobierno federal, en particular de los CDC, para obtener financiamiento de la salud pública, experticia y asistencia técnica. Con la pérdida de fondos, personal y programas, nuestro país estará menos preparado para futuras emergencias sanitarias, la salud de la ciudadanía sufrirá y aumentarán los costos de la salud”, dijo J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, presidenta y directora ejecutiva de Trust for America’s Health.

El informe incluye entrevistas con dos responsables de oficinas de salud pública —el Dr. Scott Harris, Responsable de la Oficina de Salud Estatal de Alabama, y la Dra. Katherine Wells, Directora de Salud Pública de la ciudad de Lubbock, Texas—, quienes describen los impactos y los desafíos creados en el territorio por las acciones federales, tanto las que están en curso como las que se proponen. Ambas oficinas están luchando con reducciones presupuestarias de por lo menos la mitad de su presupuesto anual como resultado de los recortes federales.

El informe también reconoce que el sistema de salud pública tiene áreas por mejorar. Necesita modernizarse y fortalecerse para satisfacer los desafíos sanitarios tanto actuales como emergentes de la población. El informe hace un llamamiento a la colaboración entre la administración, el Congreso y las oficinas de salud pública para reforzar el sistema con acciones basadas en datos. Algunas de las acciones que recomienda son:

  • El Congreso y la administración deberían restaurar las agencias federales de salud, los fondos y el personal que se recortaron en 2025.
  • La administración y el Congreso deberían mantener y reforzar la estructura y las capacidades de las agencias federales de salud, que tienen roles específicos, complementarios y distintos y cuentan con experticia en la protección de la salud de la nación.
  • El Congreso, en colaboración con agencias federales y especialistas y actores externos, debería llevar adelante un proceso deliberativo bipartidista de revisión de propuestas para la reestructuración de las agencias federales de salud o el desarrollo de nuevas agencias.
  • El Congreso y la administración deberían fortalecer el CDC como una agencia de salud pública integral nacional con responsabilidades en materia de detección, prevención y mitigación de las principales causas de muerte prevenible, enfermedades y lesiones.
  • Las agencias federales deben gastar todos los fondos asignados por el Congreso, conforme a la ley, y la Oficina de Administración y Presupuesto debería liberar hacia las agencias fondos para todo el año luego de la promulgación de la ley de asignación.
  • El Congreso debería garantizar el mejoramiento continuo de las capacidades de salud pública y los servicios esenciales de la nación, como el personal, los laboratorios y los sistemas de datos en todos los niveles.
  • El Congreso debería restaurar el Fondo de Prevención y Salud Pública, un fuente crucial de fondos sostenidos para la prevención de enfermedades y actividades de promoción de la salud en cada estado y territorio, así como también en localidades y comunidades tribales, y prevenir futuros recortes.

El informe completo puede leerse en: https://www.tfah.org/report-details/funding-report-2025

 

New Analysis: CDC’s Budget Would be Reduced by 53 Percent if the Administration’s Proposed FY 2026 Budget is Adopted; Over Sixty CDC Programs Would be Eliminated

State and local public health and preparedness programs will be significantly impacted

(Washington, DC – September 18, 2025) – Health departments in states and localities nationwide are facing severe budget reductions due to current and proposed federal cuts, funding clawbacks, layoffs and hiring freezes, and agency reorganizations. These actions will weaken the nation’s public health system and emergency readiness and response and will put the country’s health and economic security at risk. So concludes a new report, Public Health Infrastructure in Crisis: HHS Workforce Cuts, Reorganizations, and Funding Reductions: Impacts and Solutions released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a non-partisan, non-profit organization focused on public health research and policy.

The report, which includes original analysis by TFAH, tallies the impacts of budget and staff reductions and proposed agency reorganizations to date as well as additional proposed changes and highlights the following findings:

  • The President’s proposed FY 2026 budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amounts to a 53 percent reduction in funding as compared to FY 2024. This figure reflects proposed cuts to CDC and its sister agency, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). These reductions are pending Congressional action.
  • In addition, within the total proposed cut, CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness program faces a 52 percent funding reduction.
  • Overall, the proposed budget cuts CDC and ATSDR funding by slightly more than half and then restores about one-quarter of the lost funding to two newly proposed HHS divisions: the Administration for a Healthy America and the Office of Strategy.
  • Over 100 public health programs and funding lines would be eliminated under the President’s proposed FY 2026 budget including 61 programs at CDC and 40 programs at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Programs facing elimination include cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke prevention programs, obesity prevention programs, global and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention programs, global immunization programs, and opioid and other substance use prevention and recovery programs.
  • The proposed reorganization of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies would reduce the number of staff positions working on public health programs by 16 percent, even when accounting for the creation of the proposed Administration for a Healthy America.
  • This year’s termination of already-approved funds clawed back over $12 billion in COVID-19 era grants – funding that in addition to supporting the pandemic response was intended to strengthen public health infrastructure beyond the needs created by the pandemic, including infectious disease monitoring, laboratory capacity, emergency preparedness, and mental health services.

The report is focused on changes to CDC and other select HHS agencies due to their central role in supporting public health programs and crisis response at the state and local level. About 80 percent of the CDC’s domestic budget flows to states, localities, tribes and tribal organizations, healthcare systems, and community partners to support state and local public health initiatives. Federal funding accounts for about half of state and local health department budgets so cuts to federal spending are cuts to local public health budgets.

“The consequential changes occurring in federal public health agencies impact every community and the lives of every American. State and local health departments, which are on the frontlines of protecting the health of their residents rely on the federal government, particularly CDC, for public health funding, expertise, and technical assistance. With the loss of funding, workforce, and programs, our country will be less prepared for future health emergencies, Americans’ health will suffer, and healthcare costs will rise,” said J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, President and CEO, Trust for America’s Health.

Included in the report are interviews with two public health officials – Dr. Scott Harris, State Health Officer of Alabama, and Dr. Katherine Wells, Director of Public Health, City of Lubbock, Texas – describing the on the ground impacts and challenges created by the recent and proposed federal actions. Both are grappling with budget reductions of at least half of their annual budget due to federal cuts.

The report also acknowledges that the public health system has room for improvement. It needs to be modernized and strengthened to meet ongoing and emerging population health challenges. The report calls for collaboration between the administration, Congress, and public health leaders to strengthen the system through data driven actions. Some of the policy actions it recommends are:

  • Congress and the administration should restore federal health agencies, funding, and workforces that were cut in 2025.
  • The administration and Congress should maintain and strengthen the structure and capabilities of federal health agencies, which have specific, complementary, and distinct roles and expertise in protecting the nation’s health.
  • Congress, in collaboration with federal agencies and outside experts and partners, should lead a bipartisan, deliberative process of reviewing proposals for federal health agency restructuring or development of new agencies.
  • Congress and the administration should strengthen CDC as a national, comprehensive public health agency with responsibilities across the detection, prevention, and mitigation of the leading causes of preventable death, illness, and injury.
  • Federal agencies must spend all funds appropriated by Congress, as required by law, and the Office of Management and Budget should release full-year funds to agencies after enactment of appropriations legislation.
  • Congress should ensure continuous improvement of the nation’s public health capabilities and essential services, including workforces, laboratories, and data systems at all levels.
  • Congress should restore the Prevention and Public Health Fund, a critical source of sustained funding for disease prevention and health promotion activities in every state and territory, as well as in localities and tribal communities, and prevent future cuts.

TFAH Reflections on the 20-year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

(Washington, DC – August 29, 2025) – This week marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and devastated communities in Louisiana, especially New Orleans and its surrounding areas, Mississippi, and other Gulf Coast states, including Alabama and Florida. Tragically, nearly 1,400 lives were lost in the storm. Entire areas were destroyed. Some neighborhoods, which are mostly historically Black or low-income, still haven’t fully recovered from the disaster. This somber milestone should serve as a reminder for government at every level to make necessary and consistent investments in the nation’s emergency preparedness capabilities. Extreme weather events have increased in frequency and intensity since the Category 5 storm ripped through the Gulf Coast in 2005. The lasting and often disparate impacts on the health, economy, and ecology of the region are a call to action that we must be better prepared for future emergencies.

We recognize that many jurisdictions have improved their public health infrastructure and preparedness over the last two decades, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and other federal agencies. TFAH’s annual report, Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, has chronicled this progress. But we’ve also found more work is needed to ensure every community is prepared. Furthermore, much of the progress that has been achieved is now at risk due to proposed cuts in federal support for the public health workforce and outbreak prevention and preparedness programs.

The loss of entire swaths of neighborhoods due to extreme weather events is unacceptable. This is a shared responsibility. The federal government has an important leadership role to play in emergency readiness and response. Federal, state, and local governments should collaborate with each other and with trusted local organizations and leaders to safeguard every community.

Hurricane Katrina showed us that our most under-resourced communities must be a focus of and have a role in emergency planning. Failure to do so will not only exacerbate health and economic disparities but will also have a ripple effect on the entire community’s ability to thrive.

TFAH’s Ready or Not report outlines specific policy recommendations for strengthening the nation’s preparedness. We encourage policymakers to act on these recommendations and make the necessary investments to safeguard our communities.