The Department of Health and Human Services has abruptly cut federal grants worth $12 billion from states that were using them for tracking diseases, treating addiction, addressing mental health, and managing other important health issues. The cuts will further cripple the already underfunded state health departments, which are constantly dealing with issues such as chronic diseases, resurgent infections like syphilis, and emerging threats like bird flu.
Notices about the cuts were given to the departments on March 24th, stating that the funds allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic were being terminated, effective immediately. “No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said.
Public health officials in Lubbock, Texas, received orders to stop work supported by three of these grants that helped fund the response to the measles outbreak in the city, according to the Lubbock director of public health, Katherine Wells. The day after the cuts, some state health departments were planning to lay off dozens of employees, while some were still scrambling to understand the cuts’ impact. Officials have predicted massive layoffs as a result of losing the funding, with some even predicting the loss of 90% of certain infectious disease teams.
Dr. Umair Shah, who served as the Washington State health secretary up until January, said, “The reality is that, when we take funding away from public health systems, the systems just do not have the capacity, because they’re chronically underfunded over the decades.”
The cuts include $11.4 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and another $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (S.A.M.H.S.A.) Congress originally authorized the grants solely for Covid-19 testing and vaccination; however, in 2024, the departments were authorized to use the money on other pressing issues, such as testing and vaccination against other viruses.
The day after the cuts, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services was quoted saying, “The Covid-19 pandemic is over, and H.H.S. will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a nonexistent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
The Trump Administration’s cancellation of contracts and grants all throughout the government has led to a number of lawsuits from nonprofit groups, all of which are still very early on in the process. Several states have said they are exploring legal options regarding the slashed funding.
