$150M in Devastating Cuts to Public Health in CT

April 2, 2025


 
 

The Trump Administration is cutting approximately $150 million in federal funding to Connecticut, jeopardizing critical public health, mental health, and addictions services. These drastic cuts threaten lives, eliminate jobs, and terminate essential contracts severely weakening the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s (DPH) ability to track and prevent public health crises. Without these grants, DPH will face significant challenges in monitoring emerging health threats and sharing real-time information to effectively protect our communities.

Most alarmingly, these cuts will cripple DPH’s ability to track and respond to disease outbreaks such as measles, avian flu, and mpox. The agency will lose access to real-time data from emergency departments, leaving public health officials less prepared to the warning signs of potential epidemics.
 
Additionally, healthcare providers will be forced to use outdated fax systems to report diseases instead of sending the information electronically, delaying response times and weakening our ability contain outbreaks. This will have a trickle-down effect to our local health departments, already stretched thin, being less equipped to respond to infectious disease threats in our communities.

The consequences extend beyond disease tracking. These cuts will significantly disrupt:

  • newborn screenings
  • childhood immunization programs
  • testing for viruses and other pathogens
  • timely laboratory diagnostics
  • staffing to respond to outbreaks including in nursing homes

The Connecticut Department of Public Health released a comprehensive report detailing the full impact of these devastating funding cuts.
Click here to learn more