Massive Health Funding Cuts in U.S. Put Lives at Risk, Say Experts/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Sweeping federal health budget cuts are dismantling essential public health programs nationwide. Experts warn the reductions risk worsening disease outbreaks and dismantle preventative care infrastructure. Communities are losing staff, outreach efforts, and key health services amid rising infectious disease threats.
U.S. Health Crisis: Quick Looks
- Massive Cuts Implemented: Over $11 billion in pandemic-era funding pulled; 20,000 jobs cut from federal health agencies
- Programs Vanishing: Vaccination outreach, testing, and disease monitoring drastically reduced in states like North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee
- Public Health Erosion: Local departments unable to inspect, track, or respond to outbreaks efficiently
- New Disease Threats: Measles outbreak, rising whooping cough, and bird flu raise alarms amid underfunding
- Trump Administration’s Role: Proposed slashing CDC’s budget by 50%, citing post-COVID restructuring
- CDC Layoffs Ripple Nationwide: From drowning prevention to tobacco cessation, dozens of key federal initiatives axed
- Wastewater Testing Halted: Programs tracking disease mutations and emerging infections eliminated
- Legal Pushback: States file lawsuits; some health cuts temporarily paused by federal judges
- Health Equity Impacted: Disproportionate effect on low-income and minority populations who rely on public programs
- Officials Warn: “Lives are at risk,” say health leaders as infrastructure weakens across the U.S.
Deep Look: Health Funding Cuts Leave Communities Vulnerable to Outbreaks and Death
By Laura Ungar and Michelle R. Smith | AP – May 31, 2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Across the United States, life-saving public health programs are being gutted, leaving Americans increasingly exposed to rising disease threats and weakening health infrastructure. In cities from Charlotte to Columbus, critical roles once held by outreach workers, disease investigators, and immunization nurses are now vacant due to sweeping federal funding cuts implemented by the Trump administration.
Local health leaders describe a system teetering on collapse — one that’s quietly kept Americans safe from infectious outbreaks, unsafe food and water, and vaccine-preventable illnesses for generations.
“It means not having babies suffering from diseases you thought were long gone,” said James Williams, county executive in Santa Clara, California. “Public health is the quiet foundation of a functioning society.”
But that foundation is now cracking. In March, the administration abruptly withdrew $11 billion in federal funding, eliminating thousands of jobs and ending numerous programs under the claim that the COVID-19 pandemic had ended. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, framed the decision as part of a larger reorganization to “centralize and modernize” federal health agencies.
Real-World Consequences Across States
In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the effects are already visible. The local health department lost 180 employees, including eight dedicated to mobile vaccine delivery. Programs offering childhood immunizations at schools and mental health outreach to Hispanic communities have vanished.
In Columbus, Ohio, nine disease intervention specialists were laid off just as the city prepared to respond to the worst measles outbreak in decades. Kansas City lost its chance to establish in-house disease testing due to equipment funding being slashed mid-process. Nashville’s flu and COVID testing initiative was also abruptly ended.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was also hit hard. Teams focused on drowning prevention, early childhood hearing loss, and smoking cessation were eliminated, leaving states like Connecticut scrambling to find solutions.
“These are not hypothetical threats,” said Dr. Manisha Juthani, Connecticut’s health commissioner. “We’ve lost the people who know how to keep children from drowning — the number one cause of death for toddlers.”
A Shrinking System Amid Growing Threats
The timing could not be worse. The U.S. faces surging cases of measles, whooping cough, and fears of a bird flu pandemic. But state and local public health departments — often the first line of defense — are rapidly losing the resources they need.
Experts say the cuts follow a disturbing pattern of “boom and bust” public health funding — a surge during crises, followed by painful contractions. While fire departments are funded year-round for readiness, health departments are expected to ramp up only once the fire is already blazing.
COVID-era funding allowed places like Alabama to reopen rural health offices and California’s Santa Clara County to build a lab with 50 staffers. But that progress is already being undone.
“We were finally building real infrastructure,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County health director. “Now it’s all disappearing.”
Invisible Work, Ignored Value
Public health is inherently thankless — when it works, nothing happens. No child dies from whooping cough. No pool turns into a drowning hazard. No community suffers a meningitis outbreak. That invisibility makes funding fragile.
“You don’t see the people you’ve saved,” said Dr. Umair Shah, former Washington state health director. “So people don’t value it.”
Research shows that every dollar spent on childhood vaccines saves $11 in future health costs; tobacco prevention yields $2–$3 per dollar, and asthma programs can return $70 per dollar. Yet, policymakers continue to strip support.
HHS Defends Cuts, States Sue
Health and Human Services officials defend the cuts, saying the funds were pandemic-specific and the crisis is over. But courts are stepping in. Several states, including Ohio, Tennessee, and Missouri, have sued the federal government, arguing the cuts were sudden, disruptive, and placed communities at risk.
Some cuts have been paused by federal judges, but many are moving forward. The CDC budget itself may soon be slashed by 50%, according to administration proposals — a cut that would reduce direct state and local support dramatically.
Health officials say they are being forced to abandon essential services, even as disease risks grow.
“In the public’s eye, we’re always catching up,” said Michael Eby, director of clinical services in Charlotte. “But when we’re funded well, we prevent crises before they begin.”
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