Billions Cut From State, Federal Health Programs: 'Debilitating' Cuts Hit IDPH

ILLINOIS — The Trump Administration announced several cuts to federal and state health programs this week, including $12 billion in funding to help states deal with emerging health crises and the elimination of 10,000 Department of Human Services employees.

The federal grants to Illinois and others were used to fund such things as infectious disease tracking, immunization clinics, mental health services, addiction treatment and other emerging health needs.

State health departments began receiving notices Monday that funds allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic would stop immediately, according to the story first reported by NBC News. The action cancels an $11.4 billion grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and around $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said.

The termination eliminates $125 million in already-approved funding for the Illinois Department of Public Health and 97 local public health departments in the state, officials said. According to the IDPH, officials planned to rely on the now-rescinded $125 million in remaining funds to strengthen COVID-19, measles and H5N1 disease surveillance and to prepare for the possibility of future pandemics.

In addition to rescinding funding, the Trump administration is also blocking $324 million for future work to prevent and treat infectious diseases in the state.

The funding was awarded to Illinois through 14 separate budget lines in the CARS act during the first Trump Administration, according to the IDPH. As originally passed, the bill would have provided up o $449 million in direct long-term support for disease surveillance and vaccination activities in Illinois.

"This decision to terminate already awarded federal funding will cause immeasurable harm and disruption to the health and safety of the people of Illinois and generate larger expenses in the longer run," Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement. "The State of Illinois will do everything in our power to restore this vital federal funding and continue to invest in common sense public health solutions to keep our state safe and healthy."

IDPH Director also issued a statement on the "debilitating impact" he says the cuts will have in Illinois.

"While IDPH has been preparing for anticipated federal budget cuts, the termination of this awarded funding will have a debilitating impact on our efforts to protect the health of Illinoisans," Vohra said. "If allowed to stand, this funding cut will set back critical upgrades to our public health labs, technology used to track infectious diseases like H5N1 avian flu and measles, vaccination efforts, and our ongoing work to better prepare for the next public health emergency."

HHS Cuts 10,000 Workers

The cuts to states were a prelude to sweeping changes to the Department of Human Services. On Thursday, the Trump administration said about 10,000 HHS employees would be laid off under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s planned agency reorganization, a move which the administration said will save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.

HHS oversees 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug and Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy said the 28 divisions within the 13 agencies overseen by HHS will be consolidated into 15 to eliminate duplications of work.

“We will eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments, while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for Healthy America or AHA,” Kennedy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

About 2,400 CDC employees will be cut. Divisions that will be eliminated include those focused on global health, domestic HIV prevention, and prevention from injury, such as gun violence, NBC News reported.

When combined with HHS’ other efforts, the restructuring results in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees, according to a news release announcing the cuts.

The cuts are in addition to the 10,000 people who took buyout offers and left on their own after President Donald Trump took office.

Those cuts are on top of what is expected to be a wave of public health staff layoffs across the country as federal grant funding is cut off.

“We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said. “This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”

As part of the makeover, Kennedy plans to create a new division, the Administration for a Healthy America, which will be known by the acronym AHA, the news release 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,” said Dr. Umair Shah, who served as Washington State’s health secretary until January, told The New York Times.