New York, 22 other states sue Trump administration over decision to rescind billions in health funding

New York’s attorney general and officials from 22 other states and Washington, D.C., are suing the Department of Health and Human Services over its $11 billion cut to health funding that was originally passed by Congress during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday and also names Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the abrupt revocation of Congress-appropriated funding for disease control, mental health and other areas was illegal. The lawsuit argues the cut in funding, increases the risk of future pandemics and preventable disease, court documents show.

New York has already seen upward of $400 million in public health funding cuts, resulting in funding reductions to school immunization programs and work to eliminate health disparities, according to a Tuesday release from the office of Attorney General Letitia James. At least 23 public health workers in the state have been terminated.

"The Trump administration’s illegal and irresponsible decision to claw back lifesaving health funding is an attack on the well-being of millions of Americans," James said in a Tuesday statement. "Slashing this funding now will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients."

The coalition, which includes California, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Jersey, wants a temporary restraining order to "immediately halt the chaos and destruction the administration’s funding cuts are causing," according to the attorney general's release.

HHS said it wouldn’t comment on pending litigation, but said in a statement Tuesday that the agency is "prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again."

The $11 billion in cuts in question come as the Trump administration seeks to reenvision and slim down the federal government. On Tuesday, HHS began notifying workers that they would be laid off as part of its effort to cut 10,000 employees, The Associated Press reported.

HHS said in a statement last week, "The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago," according to the AP.

However, the coalition argued in the lawsuit that Congress passed several pieces of health-related legislation in response to the pandemic and to ensure that the nation was better prepared in the case of future public health threats.

"In addition to directing funds toward amelioration of the immediate effects of the COVID-19 emergency, these wide-ranging appropriations sought to address challenges facing American society in COVID-19’s wake, including gaps in the public health system," the lawsuit read. "These many critical public health investments were not tied to the duration of the public health emergency."

When Congress sought to limit public health funds that it appropriated during the pandemic, it did so at that time, the lawsuit said, and did not take back the roughly $11 billion in dispute.

Still, starting March 24, HHS began canceling the public health funds, the lawsuit states. The termination notices were given with "no warning or advance notice" and "were all effective immediately," the suit said.

The lawsuit said that the notices also did not provide individualized reasons for rescinding the funding.

In the Tuesday statement from the New York Attorney General's Office, state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald called the cuts "unprecedented and unacceptable."

"These federal health cuts are not only dangerous, but they undermine public health and will broaden the health disparities we have been working hard to eliminate," McDonald said.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.