JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell discussed her department's fight against the Zika virus while making a stop in Jacksonville Tuesday to promote the bundle payment that could be offered through the Affordable Care Act.
Burwell held a roundtable discussion Tuesday morning at Brooks Rehabilitation Center, on University Boulevard, with doctors, patients, staff and health officials about the future of health care.
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She also said her department is focused on stopping the Zika virus from spreading in Florida and on finding a vaccine.
"We are working very closely. The public Health Department in Florida will lead, and those local public health departments we have been asked, we send in any kind of team to support the team on the ground. We have done that and we are supporting them in the investigation that they're doing," Burwell said.
Burwell told News4Jax that Florida has received some of the largest amounts of grant funding to fight against the spread of Zika virus.
However, she said she's hopeful that Congress will pass $1.9 billion in funding when the session resumes. The funding would help the National Institute of Health research a vaccine for the Zika virus.
Burwell had been touring the country to promote the bundle payment. Her three-state visit finished in Jacksonville.