Trump admin cancels over $12B in health care grants
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The Trump administration is canceling billions of dollars in grant funding to state and local health departments without warning, throwing their programs into disarray.
Why it matters: The move casts doubt on states' ability to continue substance use disorder support programs and prevent emerging infectious diseases, among other efforts.
- In Virginia, the state health department has already begun laying off staff as a result of the funding cuts.
Where it stands: Health and Human Services has terminated more than $12 billion in federal grants so far this week.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to claw back about $11.4 billion from states, which was largely directed toward COVID-19 testing, vaccination and initiatives to bridge health disparities, HHS confirmed to Axios.
- The administration also canceled about $1 billion in grants that had been made possible by COVID-19 relief legislation and dispersed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS said.
What they're saying: "The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement.
- "HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump's mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again."
- Democratic lawmakers immediately slammed the terminations. "This is another destructive move by an administration intent on breaking government with no discernible strategy or plan — making our communities less safe in the process — and it should be immediately reversed," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Zoom in: Community health workers, nurses and epidemiologists in Virginia have begun receiving termination notices, several current and former Virginia Department of Health employees familiar told Axios.
- One worker who was laid off told Axios that the department's central office sent out an email Tuesday night about the grant changes.
- By Wednesday morning, people were laid off and locked out of the agency system.
- The email, obtained by Axios, also announced a hiring freeze "as we assess the available resources and priorities."
Between the lines: Virginia's health department, like many other states', overwhelmingly relies on federal money with strict spending guidelines.
- At least 43% of the full-time workforce in 2021 was supported by contractors.
- And when the federal money expires, usually, so do those roles.
