CDC cuts, millions in NIH grants canceled, layoffs at HHS: Our quick summary recent news impacting HIV & LGBTQ+ services and health

This month, we’re bringing you extended information about the HIV and LGBTQ+-related funding and administrative changes coming from the Federal administration that affects the U.S.’s domestic HIV response. This information changes daily–for daily updates please follow San Francisco AIDS Foundation on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky). 

CDC HIV Prevention Division Cuts

We’re incredibly concerned about the news that the Trump administration is in the process of defunding the HIV Prevention Division of the CDC to the tune of $1 billion in cuts. With more than 90% of all federal funding for HIV prevention coming from the CDC, these cuts would essentially cripple our nation’s ability to prevent new infections and continue to make progress to end the HIV epidemic. As this article is published, we have received word that a number of branches  within the HIV Prevention Division, including HIV research, qualitative sciences, capacity development, prevention communications, and behavioral & clinical surveillance have been defunded.

Under the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, our country has seen a nearly 20% reduction in new HIV infections from 2010 to 2022, according to amfAR. Counterintuitively, these devastating cuts won’t save this country money–new infections and the associated lifelong care costs far more than the cost of preventing thousands and thousands of new infections yearly. You can read more in the NY Times, in this article by Apoorva Mandavilli, and on KFF in this article by Lindsey Dawson. 

SFAF CEO Dr. Tyler TerMeer joined a coalition of other leading HIV and LGBTQ agengies across the nation to condemn the cuts in a statement, which you can read here. Our senior advisor and expert on all things federal HIV policy, Ernest Hopkins, offered insight into the issue in this interview with NBC, which you can watch here. 

Millions in HIV & LGBTQ+ Research Terminated as NIH Makes Cuts to Grants 

Grants and contracts funding millions in HIV, LGBTQ+ health, STI, substance use, Covid-19, vaccine, and equity-based research have been abruptly canceled by the National Institutes of Health, causing widespread alarm. A PDF list of canceled grants, which you can see here, is now 42 pages long. 

Included in the cuts was a sudden cancellation of $18 million in funding for the Adolescent Trials Network, which is focused on diagnosing, preventing, and treating HIV among adolescents and young adults; grants to prevent and control emerging infectious diseases; immunization and vaccination grants, PrEP and HIV prevention research grants, and grants that mention “gender minorities,” “transgender individuals,” and “LGBTQ.” As reported by Jen Christensen at CNN, the elimination of these grants was a direct result of a Presidential Memo directing federal agencies to eliminate “wasteful spending.” 

Public health officials and HIV researchers are speaking out, warning of the dire effects that will be felt nation-wide as medical and health advances in HIV are defunded, calling the termination of federal grants “chaos and insanity” and saying this will deeply impact our ability as a nation to end HIV and AIDS.  

$12 Billion Federal Grants to State Health Departments Canceled 

News broke last week that the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) has canceled more than $12 billion in federal grants that support state health departments, which will result in thousands of lost jobs, and lasting implications on disease tracking, prevention, and data collection across the nation. State health departments use these funds to support testing and surveillance on a variety of illnesses, including Covid-19, measles outbreaks, syphilis, and bird flu. 

Layoffs and Restructuring at all Health & Human Services Agencies 

Also last week, the head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced in a YouTube video “Make America Healthy Again” a series of “painful” changes that will affect the CDC, the FDA, NIH, and Medicare/Medicaid–20,000 employees will be laid off, have departed, or will be let go for other reasons. The overall workforce will go from 82,000 to 62,000 employees, with the administration saying that most, if not all, of the affected employees are from operations, communications, human resources, and other administrative functions. The FDA and CDC are reported to be hardest hit–losing roughly 20% of their staff. This week, the local HHS office in San Francisco, which in part helps to coordinate the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, closed with reportedly more than 300 staff laid off. 

“…outside experts said the move would decimate agencies charged with protecting the health and safety of the American public, depriving it of the scientific expertise necessary to respond to current and future biological threats.” (NY Times, by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Christina Jewett) 

At this point, it is unclear the degree to which HIV prevention activities will be affected, although we know that “HIV/AIDS” will be included as a division under the new “Administration for a Healthy America (AHA)” along with mental health, environmental health, maternal and child health, and more. HIV Law & Policy shares that, “These reductions and consolidations will disrupt healthcare and services, leading to more people testing positive for HIV, more people facing increased barriers to vital services, more people losing access to treatment, and ultimately more people dying.” 

Gender Affirming Care is Under Attack

Across the nation, care and services for transgender people continue to come under attack. Back in January, President Trump signed an executive order directing the end to gender-affirming medical care for people under age 19. Recently, we received news that the Department of Veterans Affairs is phasing out gender-affirming care, the Health Civil Rights Office has withdrawn guidance on gender-affirming care, and the Health and Human Services has issued guidance stating the existence of only two sexes.  

In California, protections for gender-affirming care remain in place, with California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta directing hospitals and clinics to continue the provision of gender affirming care in order to comply with anti-discrimination laws. 

Medicaid 

Medicaid, our nation’s safety net health care for 72 million people, is likely to see billions of dollars in drastic cuts at the federal level–the recently passed House budget resolution cuts Medicaid up to $88 billion per year for a decade. This would leave states in a lurch, as they decide whether to make up those cuts from the federal level in order to keep providing care to the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. KFF estimates that states could raise taxes by 6% per resident in order to make up the shortfall, or make cuts to other state programs such as education. 

You can read more about this issue from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (by Allison Orris and Elizabeth Zhang).

What can you do? 

Stay informed. We’ll continue to bring you critical information about policy and funding changes that will affect our communities, but you can also find accurate information from sources like KFF, HIV + Hep Policy Institute, the Center for HIV Law & Policy, and AIDS United. 

Get engaged and speak up! We will bring you opportunities such as Action Alerts, with call scripts and email templates you can use to contact your legislators. 

Start here with the HIV Advocacy Network’s Action Alert for a guide to oppose the elimination of the CDC HIV Prevention Division. Share this Action Alert widely, and urge your friends, family, and community to take action as well!