Indiana's "historic" public health funding was scaled back in the final version of the state budget — going from $100 million to just $40 million appropriated for the Health First Indiana initiative. One expert said public health programs take years to build and this decrease could stall important progress.

Just three initiatives under Indiana’s significant local public health funding program generated nearly $100 million in savings for the state.

Indiana will disperse a total of $150 million to local health departments in January 2025. Before lawmakers expanded public health funding, counties shared about $7 million from the state annually.

Eighty-six Indiana counties recently received the first round of public health funding to come from the state's Health First Indiana initiative. Local health departments that opted into the funding have since received a total of $75 million from the state.