Billions Cut From State, Federal Health Programs: What To Know In MA

MASSACHUSETTS — 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 Massachusetts 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.

Gov. Maura Healey said the cuts amount to "undermining the health of well-being of the people of Massachusetts and across this nation."

"Massachusetts depends on this funding to provide behavioral health care, prevent and treat respiratory illnesses, and ensure that community-based organizations, including community health care centers and workers, have the resources they need to care for patients," Healey said.

"Donald Trump was elected and promised to make life cheaper, healthier and easier for people, but he's taking us backwards on all of those fronts. We will continue to assess the full impacts and are in touch with the Attorney General's Office and the 49 other states facing similar challenges."

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The Healey-Driscoll Administration said the federal grants were expected to bring nearly $100 million to Massachusetts over the next year, and much of the funding has already been obligated. Among the services funded by the grants are treatment and testing for the bird flu, vaccine infrastructure, and grants to community organizations to improve vaccine uptake and counter against vaccine misinformation and disinformation.

"We need a federal partner who is going to work with states to support local health care providers and make sure we have the tools to prevent and treat illnesses," Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said. "Massachusetts does not have the resources to replace all of the funding that President Trump and Elon Musk are terminating. Massachusetts will always step up to keep people safe and healthy, but we need the federal government to work with us, not against us."

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.

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.

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