Public health has taken ‘a huge black eye’ with federal cuts

President Trump’s administration has cut funding for medical research and terminated hundreds of grants to hospitals and universities, alarming healthcare leaders, clinicians, and scientists.

But some healthcare leaders are especially concerned about cuts in aid for programs aimed at public health, including efforts to prevent and monitor future outbreaks.

Devin Jopp, CEO of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that he’s worried about the federal government slashing aid for public health efforts.

“Public health has absolutely been dealt a huge black eye,” Jopp says.

Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a sweeping reorganization of the department. Critics say the cuts have gone far beyond administrative bloat and have removed people and offices that played a critical role in protecting public health.

The health department has also pulled $11 billion in Covid funds from state and local governments, saying the money isn’t needed because the pandemic is over. Public health leaders say the loss of funds has disrupted programs to distribute vaccines and also monitor other infectious diseases.

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told Chief Healthcare Executive® in a March interview that rescinding the money is a “tragic loss of capacity of the public health system.”

Democratic attorneys general in 23 states filed a suit to stop the Trump administration from pulling back the money, and a judge has blocked the move for the time being.

Jopp says significant damage has been done to public health agencies that weren’t “well funded, if you will, in the first place.”

One county which had six infection preventionists now is down to one, Jopp says.

“That is a real problem,” Jopp says. “And I think we're going to see that trickle down effect in terms of the resilience and our ability of our public health officials having real challenges, being able to respond back.”

Public health leaders also bemoaned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dissolving the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. The committee didn’t have a big public profile but helped set standards to prevent infections in hospitals, outpatient clinics and other healthcare settings.

Four infectious disease groups denounced the elimination of the committee and have implored the administration to restore it. Jopp says the committee played a valuable role in protecting hospitals and staff. He likened the advisory body to a maestro leading an orchestra.

“This group does critical work,” Jopp says. “It sets isolation precautions.”

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that she was disappointed to see the CDC committee was disbanded.

“I think we're all holding out hope it can be restored,” Binder says. “It's a very pivotal, and not very resource intensive effort by the federal government to make sure that people are up to date on the best practices.”

Public health leaders say they’re worried that the federal government is losing capabilities that won’t be easy to restore.

“It took us decades to get to where we were,” Jopp says. “And I think we saw during COVID, even with what we had, it was a struggle.”

"And so, now we're going to take a huge step backwards," he adds. "And you know, I think it sets us back and creates a lot of danger for us as a public health system. If we have another emerging infectious disease, for example, that we're not going to be as ready for it and nimble and able to respond back. And I think that's certainly a huge issue that I think everyone in healthcare has concerns about.”

Tom Cotter, CEO of the Health Response Alliance, says state and local health departments have already reduced staff. He says it's likely that other public health employees may look for other jobs because they're worried about budget cuts.

"I think it's really driving away talent from the public sector, which is an incredible shame for dedicated public servants," Cotter says.

As local health departments lose staff and capabilities, hospitals probably aren’t going to be in a position to pick up the slack. As hospitals are facing reduced aid and the loss of federal grant money, some health systems are laying off infection control staff, Jopp says. He’s implored hospitals to preserve infection prevention staff to protect patients and staff.

“If you think about the infection preventionist, they're that link point between the hospital and the public health department,” Jopp says. “Those IPs typically are already stretched thin. And so I think the expectation that they're going to be able to meaningfully take on public health probably isn't going to happen.”

Public health leaders say it’s ironic to see such cuts after the COVID-19 pandemic, and Jopp says it’s more evidence of the failure to learn from that experience.

“I don't think that we felt that we had learned our lesson from COVID-19,” Jopp says.

The Trump administration has proposed cuts of billions of dollars in funding for the NIH and CDC in the 2026 fiscal year, with each agency losing at least 40% of its funding. Jopp and others hope Congress will agree to put more money towards federal health programs.

“I think we've taken quite a big step backwards, personally,” Jopp says. “We'll see what happens over time. You know, certainly the funding bill has to still make its way through and clear Congress. But I think, certainly we have significant concerns that the amount of funding that's being devoted to public health is certainly inadequate.”