$4 Billion has been spent to date...poorly?
The Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) provides leadership and funding through grants and cooperative agreements to States, territories, and eligible municipalities to improve surge capacity and enhance community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies. To date, states, territories, and large metropolitan areas have received HPP grants totaling over $4 billion to help Healthcare Coalitions, hospitals and other healthcare organizations strengthen medical surge and other Healthcare Preparedness Capabilities across the nation.
The program is managed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Office of Emergency Management (OEM), which provides programmatic oversight and works with its partners in State, territorial, and municipal government to ensure that the program’s goals are met or exceeded.
This funding is used to support programs to help strengthen public health emergency preparedness in several ways:
 | | Enhanced Planning: HPP funding is used to enhance Healthcare Coalitions, hospitals and other healthcare organization’s collective system planning and response at the State, local, and territorial levels. |  | | Increasing Integration: HPP facilitates the integration of public and private sector medical planning and assets to increase the preparedness, response, and surge capacity of Healthcare Coalitions, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations. |  | | Improving Infrastructure: Awardees have used HPP Grants and Special Initiative Grant funding to improve the State, local, and territorial infrastructures that help Healthcare Coalitions, hospitals and other healthcare organizations prepare for public health emergencies.
Additionally, the Hospital Preparedness Program, a state-federal cooperative administered by the Department of Health and Human Services has been slashed. In 2003, its budget was $520 million. In 2014 and 2015, it's $255 million.
| |
