1 day Ago By Racquel Bazos
Maryland has joined 22 states in a federal lawsuit over the termination of some $11 billion in funds from the Department of Health and Human Services and its secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Office of the Attorney General said Tuesday.
While the funding cancellation could cost billions for the affected states, the release says Maryland could lose up to $200 million. “If the funding is not restored, important state public health programs and initiatives will have to be dissolved or disbanded, including vital funding to support vaccination programs, track disease outbreaks, and alleviate health disparities,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a news release Tuesday.HHS revoked COVID-19-related monies totaling $11.
4 billion last week, with funding termination notices starting last Monday, according to The Associated Press. “The Trump Administration’s reckless and unlawful termination of $11 billion in critical public health grants is a dangerous assault on our State’s ability to protect our residents when infectious diseases like the measles or bird flu are on the rise,” Attorney General Anthony Brown said in the release.Local health departments did not confirm receiving termination notices last week, with several saying they were waiting for the state to determine the impacts on each jurisdiction.
“The Maryland Department of Health is aware of the reporting on COVID-19 grant cancellations and understands the potential for direct impact on the health of Marylanders. The Department is currently determining the full extent of these federal actions and will provide updates as more information becomes available,” Chase Cook, communications director for the department, said in an email to The Baltimore Sun last week. The state health department did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency ended in 2023, the states contend that funding was not “tied to the end of the pandemic,” the attorney general’s office said. The lawsuit seeks to block Kennedy’s orders in court and prevent him and HHS from keeping or reinstating the funding terminations.“I am outraged that the President would cut this lifeline with zero warning, threatening to dismantle vital health services our communities depend on.
I will fight with every legal tool available to reverse this indefensible decision before it costs Marylanders their lives,” Brown said in the release.Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at [email protected], 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.
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