The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) seeks public comment to inform the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) funding formula. This Request for Information (RFI) is part of a rigorous process to evaluate potential modifications and refresh of the HPP funding formula. With Local Health Departments (LHDs) as essential members of their respective Health Care Coalitions (HCCs) that receive HPP funding, NACCHO recommends that LHDs voice their feedback in this RFI.
“The HPP funding formula must reflect the current threat landscape,” said Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell in a press release. “The feedback we gather is important to the future of health care readiness. We want to ensure that our approach incorporates hard-won lessons from past responses and prepares the health care community for future risks.”
The HPP funding formula is statutorily required and determines the distribution of HPP cooperative agreement funding to recipients. The formula consists of three components: a base amount determined by the HHS Secretary, a required adjustment based on population, and an amount based on significant unmet need and degree of risk.
Through this RFI, ASPR seeks feedback on how it might change the data sources and information the agency uses to determine the formula’s risk component. The risk component accounts for health care risks and hazards capable of creating a surge for the U.S. health care delivery system. ASPR calculates the health care surge-specific risk component using publicly available national datasets to account for three subcomponents: threat, vulnerability, and consequence.
The potential changes to the HPP funding formula will influence how ASPR distributes funds to HPP recipients beginning in Fiscal Year 2025. The funding formula was unchanged in Fiscal Year 2024 to provide stable funding for each recipient and provide recipients with a measure of predictability at a time of considerable stress on the nation’s health care delivery system.
The RFI is open to comment from all members of the public. Please note that while respondents are invited to provide feedback on the entire document, there is no requirement to do so. By taking the opportunity to provide input, responses help ASPR continue to improve and strengthen the nation’s health care readiness. All comments must be received using the methods outlined in the full RFI by 11:59 p.m. EST, on December 20, 2024. Submissions received after the deadline will not be reviewed.
For additional information, access the full RFI.
