The health of the American people lags behind that of other developed countries. Federal public health agencies have a broad range of responsibilities and functions that include public health research, funding, and oversight of direct health care providers. It has been a long time since there have been changes to how the federal government structures its healthcare roles and programs outside of Medicare and Medicaid (Trust, 2013). With health care reform on the horizon, now is the time to invest time and money in prevention, not medicine, making it a top priority for improving health and preventing disease. Funding efforts at all levels of the public health continuum must focus on developing programs that target flagship initiatives such as tobacco cessation, improving nutrition, providing safe workplaces, and increasing physical activity across all ages of the population. People should have equal access to preventative medicine and quality education. State and local public health departments across the country have a responsibility to improve health in workplaces, schools, and communities by identifying major health problems within society and developing a plan to improve. Obstacles the public health system has encountered over the years include: changes in the overall health system that support cost containment and health improvement, and an increase in the number of individuals with insurance coverage for direct preventive services; reductions in qualified public health personnel and funding at all levels of government; increasing focus on accountability, with greater expectations of demonstrating a return on investment in terms of costs and improved health (Trust, 2013). In the near future, health departments......middle of paper......ion. The Secretary of HHS will provide funding for research in public health services and systems to examine best prevention practices. Federal health programs will collect and report data by race, ethnicity, primary language, and any other indicators of disparities. The CDC will evaluate best practices for employer wellness and provide an educational campaign and technical assistance to promote the benefits of workplace health promotion. A new CDC program will help state, local, and tribal public health agencies improve surveillance and response to infectious diseases and other important conditions. An Institute of Medicine conference on pain care will evaluate the appropriateness of pain assessment, treatment and management; identify and address barriers to appropriate pain care; increase awareness; and report to Congress on findings and recommendations.