Kentucky faces a $148.8 million funding cut for childhood vaccines, suicide prevention, community health workers, and addiction treatment services after the Trump administration announced plans to cancel the state’s COVID-19 healthcare grants.
According to a spokesperson for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, these cuts will cause delays in childhood vaccine orders and biennial provider re-enrollments.
Furthermore, vital vaccination outreach, education, and mobile services in rural and underserved areas would be discontinued.
“Most of the funds go to local health departments across Kentucky and Community Mental Health Centers, as well as other local community partners,” said spokesperson Kendra Steele in an email.
The funding cut will also affect the Purple Star Program, which helps military-connected children, as well as addiction treatment services.
Grants for training community health workers, staffing youth drop-in centers, and running call centers for the 988 suicide prevention hotline would all be impacted.
The US Department of Health and Human Services announced the cancellation of approximately $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funding across the country, claiming that the pandemic has ended.
However, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear opposes the decision, claiming that it is not a valid reason to terminate a contract. He stated that he may challenge the funding cuts.
“These are promises made by the federal government, and they help ensure we have more staff at health clinics,” she said.
“Congress passed laws appropriating these funds, and an executive cannot simply cancel them.”
Funding for infectious disease tracking, mental health services, and addiction treatment will be reduced across the country.
Officials under new Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described the spending as “waste,” claiming that Americans had moved on from the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent crisis,” the federal health department stated in its termination letter.
Beshear also expressed concern about the layoffs of 10,000 federal health workers, calling them a “really bad idea” in light of ongoing national health crises such as bird flu and a significant measles outbreak, one of which has already been confirmed in a Kentucky adult.
