Strengthening Public Health Advocacy at ASTHO’s Spring Leadership Forum

March 28, 2025 | Catherine Murphy, Catherine Jones, Alex Wheatley, Dulce Mendoza

ASTHO’s Annual Spring Leadership Forum convenes state and territorial health officials to discuss key policy issues, attend training sessions, and align priorities across health departments. In addition to engaging with federal agencies, ASTHO held a Hill Day on March 12. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the since-passed continuing resolution (CR), federal lawmakers warmly welcomed ASTHO members and had highly impactful conversations. ASTHO’s members—health officials from states, territories, and freely associated states (T/FAS)—raised important public health concerns. Members and lawmakers discussed solutions and goals to move the nation’s health forward.

Engaging with Federal Agencies and Congress

On Monday, March 10, ASTHO’s Board of Directors convened with leadership from HHS, including representatives from HRSA, FDA, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. These discussions centered on critical public health priorities and explored opportunities for collaboration between federal agencies and health officials. Key topics included partnering to continue core public health programs, the importance of food safety enforcement and response, emerging infectious disease response, chronic disease prevention strategies, addressing the overdose epidemic, and shoring up supply chains and the Strategic National Stockpile.

On Wednesday, during ASTHO’s Hill Day, 20 state health officials held more than 60 meetings with members of Congress, committees, and their staff to emphasize the importance of sustained and robust public health funding, which included advocating for a $1 billion allocation for the Public Health Infrastructure Grant in FY26 to enhance core public health capacities. Officials emphasized the crucial nature of sustained investment so the public health workforce can respond to emerging health threats, including recent measles outbreaks across nine states and serious concerns about avian flu. These conversations also centered around state and district-specific public health efforts and concerns. This engagement deepened relationships between state health officials and their federal representatives to tackle pressing public health issues.

Elevating Island Public Health Priorities on Capitol Hill

ASTHO’s island jurisdiction members, representing all five U.S. territories and three freely associated states, traveled a collective 46,000 miles to amplify their unique legislative and administrative priorities in Washington, D.C. Island Hill Day events targeted two areas for legislative change: achieving territorial Medicaid funding parity and securing critical health financing through renegotiated Compacts of Free Association (COFA). Island area health officials also met with federal agencies and academic partners to discuss data modernization, behavioral health, chronic disease, and emergency preparedness.

Leaders discussed territorial Medicaid with the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Finance committees, then pivoted to the Senate and House Energy and Natural Resources committees, where COFA implementation took center stage. Island leaders used Hill Day to educate committee staff about the impact of COFA and Medicaid funding, as well as to focus on emerging trends and priorities in island jurisdiction health systems. With limited T/FAS representation in Congress, Hill Day is a particularly valuable opportunity to connect and amplify island voices on Capitol Hill.

Ongoing Engagement

ASTHO remains committed to advancing public health priorities through ongoing virtual and in-person engagement with policymakers. In the coming weeks, ASTHO’s government affairs team will continue to meet with Congressional offices to share resources on crucial public health programs and FY26 funding. ASTHO will soon release its FY26 Governmental Public Health Appropriations Book, outlining essential funding needs for key public health programs identified by ASTHO and affiliate organizations. And, as always, ASTHO and its members will continue to collaborate with federal and state partners to ensure state, territory, and freely associated state health agencies are well-prepared to respond to everyday public health matters and future public health emergencies.