The Importance of Maintaining 302(b) Allocations for Essential Public Health Programs

The next Labor-HHS budget will directly shape whether programs like Ryan White, community health centers, and HIV workforce initiatives can grow; or whether they’ll be forced to do more with less.

302(b) allocations set the spending cap for critical public health programs, including the ones you rely on. A lower LHHS allocation could mean flat funding or cuts to program core services, staffing, or grant renewal opportunities.

Funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation for years. And now, proposed restructuring of HHS agencies plus potential cuts could further jeopardize services you and your (or providers and) patients rely on.

302(b) allocations determine the total amount each congressional subcommittee (like Labor-HHS) can spend. Those allocations set the ceiling for funding across all programs in that bill—like, HRSA, CDC, SAMHSA, NIH, etc. So if the LHHS 302(b) is low, programs like Ryan White, STD Prevention, Hepatitis, and HIV workforce programs are at greater risk for level funding or cuts.

Congress must reject restructuring proposals that bypass authorizing committees and gut agency functions behind closed doors. Providers have seen the effect of flat-funded HIV programs year after year—302(b) sets the cap. That’s where the future of care starts.