The federal government has canceled $12 billion in public health funding that states had been using to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, treat addiction, and track mental health trends.
Kanishka Singh and Ahmed Aboulenein report for Reuters.
In short:
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withdrew federal grants awarded during the pandemic, cutting off funds used to track measles, bird flu, and provide addiction and mental health services.
- States including Washington, New York, Illinois, Texas, and Massachusetts reported halted programs and potential job losses in public health departments.
- Critics say the cuts, led by the Trump administration and HHS secretary RFK Jr., a vaccine skeptic, put lives at risk and weaken preparations for emerging health threats.
Key quote:
"Senselessly ripping away this funding Congress provided will undermine our state’s ability to protect families from infectious diseases like measles and bird flu and to help people get the mental health care and substance use treatment they need."
— Patty Murray, U.S. Senator
Why this matters:
As federal pandemic-era funding dries up, state and local health departments are quietly being left to fend for themselves. Programs once bolstered by emergency grants — ranging from wastewater surveillance for viruses to mobile mental health units — are being scaled back or shuttered entirely. While COVID-19 may no longer be the front-page crisis it once was, the threats to public health haven’t disappeared. Measles outbreaks are reemerging in pockets of the country with low childhood vaccination rates, and H5N1 bird flu continues to circulate among animal populations with potential for zoonotic spillover to humans.
Now, many aspects of public health systems are being dismantled, with no clear plan for sustainability. A patchwork of strained state agencies now bear the weight of rising health threats and widening disparities.
Related: Trump administration halts $1.7 billion in EPA grants for pollution-hit communities
