Just three months after losing $700 million in unused federal pandemic funds, Texas public health officials are preparing for another financial blow—a potential $119 million in federal funding cuts by the end of June. These cuts could hit core health programs statewide, from HIV prevention and vaccine outreach to diabetes care and emergency preparedness.
Local public health departments were officially alerted by state officials to prepare for reductions. These pending cuts involve CDC grants that support a wide range of health initiatives and are critical to keeping community health services operational.
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- 1 What’s at stake with the $119 million in cuts?
- 2 Cuts hit during measles outbreak and rising health risks
- 3 Staff layoffs, clinic closures, and rising public health risks
The loss comes at a tough time. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) missed its chance to request more state funding, as the Legislature recently wrapped up its regular session. Although lawmakers increased DSHS’s state funding by $86 million over two years, that bump won’t fully cushion the blow of an expected $685 million drop in federal funds, mostly tied to the end of COVID-era support.
“We have staff checking the federal grant solution system every day, multiple times a day,” said Imelda Garcia, the agency’s chief deputy commissioner. “We’ve made phone calls to our federal partners. However, we still don’t have any additional information at this time.”
What’s at stake with the $119 million in cuts?
Unless renewed, these federal dollars will disappear at the end of June. The cuts would affect:
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$28 million to expand vaccine coverage
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$36.4 million for community disaster and disease preparedness
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$20 million for hospital emergency readiness
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$25.5 million dedicated to HIV prevention
Additional cuts could impact public health programs addressing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, tobacco use, wastewater surveillance, and even school-related health services.
Although the funding hasn’t officially been revoked, Garcia warned local departments to prepare for possible delays or denials.
“I wanted to put them on your radar in case there are additional delays that we may see in the coming weeks,” she told the agency’s public health funding and policy committee.
As a precaution, on May 30, Garcia directed health departments to pause HIV prevention and testing activities, citing the lack of confirmation from the federal government about continued funding.
More cuts could follow later this year, she said.
Cuts hit during measles outbreak and rising health risks
This funding uncertainty comes at a critical time for Texas, which ranks near the bottom nationally for public health funding. The state is also grappling with a serious measles outbreak that has sickened nearly 750 people, including cases in other states and countries. Two children have died, and officials say the outbreak won’t be considered over until 42 days pass with no new cases.
“In a post-COVID world, in a world where we’ve got this measles outbreak and … you’re cutting immunizations, I mean, this just does not make any sense,” said Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services and the committee’s vice chair.
Huang also criticized recent decisions by federal agencies, pointing out contradictions between their public messaging and budget cuts.
“You say your priorities are chronic disease, and you eliminate the whole Office on Smoking and Health and the FDA tobacco control program,” he said. “This doesn’t make sense at all.”
Staff layoffs, clinic closures, and rising public health risks
When Texas lost the $700 million in pandemic-era funds earlier this year, public health departments laid off workers and scaled back services. The DSHS reassigned 63 employees and let go of 32 others, including 19 fellows whose terms ended a week early. Huang noted that his department alone laid off over 20 employees.
In Bell County, the local health clinic in Temple had to shut its doors temporarily. The very next day, the city reported its first measles case—an unvaccinated man.
“CDC doesn’t have a full-time director as yet, so they are just having difficulty getting decisions made, is what we have heard,” Garcia said when asked if the federal agency could offer Texas some flexibility, given the ongoing measles crisis.
Despite sympathy from federal partners, the lack of clarity and leadership at the CDC continues to leave Texas health officials—and millions of residents—in limbo.
