HHS has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in grants to state health departments that supported efforts to track infectious diseases, expand mental health services and modernize outdated systems, according to The New York Times. Late March 25, state health departments started receiving notices that $11.4 billion in grants from the CDC and roughly $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were being canceled immediately. “No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said, according to the Times.
NBC News had first reported that the CDC was discontinuing the $11.4 billion in COVID-19 funds. While Congress had initially authorized those funds to support COVID response efforts such as vaccination, testing and addressing health disparities in high-risk populations, the government gave state health departments the flexibility to allocate the funds toward other public health concerns in 2024, including testing and surveillance for other respiratory viruses; vaccines for children and uninsured adults; preparedness efforts for future health threats; and chronic disease research.
Public health officials working to combat a growing measles outbreak in West Texas have already received notices to stop certain response efforts that were supported by the discontinued grants. In some states, health departments are considering laying off dozens of epidemiologists and data scientists, according to the Times.
“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,” Andrew Nixon, HHS director of communications, said in a statement shared with NBC and the Times. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”
Here are four more federal health updates:
1. The Senate confirmed Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, as director of the National Institutes of Health and Marty Makary, MD, as FDA commissioner, CBS News reported March 25.
Dr. Bhattacharya was confirmed in a 53-47 vote, while Dr. Makary was confirmed 56-44. The same day, the Senate Finance Committee advanced the nomination of Mehmet Oz, MD, as CMS administrator to the full Senate.
Dr. Bhattacharya, a physician, economist and professor of health policy at Stanford (Calif.) University, will lead the NIH, the federal agency responsible for supporting and conducting medical research. The agency operates with a $48 billion budget, and the office of the director sets policy and manages NIH programs and activities.
Dr. Makary will lead the $7.2 billion FDA, which employs more than 18,000 people and is responsible for regulation of the U.S.’ food, medical device and drug supply. He is a surgical oncologist at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins and chief of islet transplant surgery who has written several books on patient safety issues, rising healthcare costs and the pharmaceutical industry’s influence over federal regulatory affairs.
Both have publicly criticized elements of the U.S. COVID-19 response. Dr. Bhattacharya co-wrote the “Great Barrington Declaration,” which was published in October 2020 and argued that lockdowns were causing “irreparable harm”; the letter also promoted herd immunity with protections focused on higher-risk individuals.
2. The NIH and FDA, both part of HHS, have laid off employees recently. A U.S. district judge on March 13 ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary employees across 18 agencies. HHS sent reinstatement notification letters to 3,248 workers to comply with the order, according to a previous CBS News report.
3. The Trump administration has shared plans to close HHS’ Long Research and Practice office as part of a broader effort to reorganize the federal health department, Politico reported March 24. Long COVID patient advocacy groups have pushed for years for more research and treatment for around 23 million Americans affected by the condition. While an internal HHS email confirmed the office closure, it did not provide a timeline for the closure or clarify employee status.
4. President Donald Trump nominated Susan Monarez, PhD, on March 24 to lead the CDC after David Weldon, MD, had his nomination withdrawn March 13 prior to his first confirmation hearing. Dr. Monarez has served since Jan. 23 as acting CDC director.
She previously served as deputy director of Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, and also held positions with the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council. Dr. Monarez would be the first CDC director to need Senate approval if confirmed.
