Colorado and other states ask judge to reverse deep cuts to U.S. Health and Human Services

Attorneys general in Colorado other states and Washington D C are challenging cuts to the U S Strength and Human Services agency saying the Trump administration s massive restructuring has destroyed life-saving programs and left states to pick up the bill for mounting healthcare crises The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Monday New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed The attorneys general from Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Hawaii Illinois Maine Michigan Maryland Minnesota New Jersey New Mexico Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington Wisconsin and the District of Columbia signed onto the complaint Wellness Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr restructured the agency in March eliminating more than employees and collapsing agencies under the sprawling HHS umbrella into the attorneys general noted An additional employees had already been let go by President Donald Trump s administration according to the lawsuit and combined the cuts stripped of the HHS workforce Since its founding HHS has worked to protect and advance the strength and well-being of all Americans Under Secretary s Kennedy s latest restructuring that mission is in jeopardy with Colorado and other states harmed by the undermining of the agency s statutory mission to address HIV AIDs and other infectious diseases the devastation of its ceiling to address behavioral wellness issues like the opioid dilemma and the destabilization of the Food and Drug Administration Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser commented in a report We are suing to stop the reckless dismantling of HHS and protect the healthcare and safety of Coloradans Kennedy has declared he is seeking to streamline the nation s residents healthcare agencies and reduce redundancies across them with the layoffs The cuts were made as part of a directive the administration has dubbed Make America Healthy Again HHS is one of the governing body s costliest federal agencies with an annual budget of about trillion that is mostly spent on fitness care coverage for millions of people enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid James who is leading the lawsuit called the restructuring a sweeping and unlawful assault that would endanger lives This is not administration reorganization This is not efficiency James reported during a press conference Monday The cuts have resulted in laboratories having limited testing for selected infectious diseases the federal regime not tracking cancer risks among U S firefighters early childhood learning programs left unsure of future funds and programs aimed at monitoring cancer and maternal robustness closing the attorneys general say Cuts at the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention also have hampered states ability to respond to one of the largest measles outbreaks in up-to-date years the lawsuit says Related Articles Colorado Rep Brittany Pettersen asks RFK Jr to maintain funding for naloxone invokes mom s opioid battle Black public in Denver rallied to share flu shot experiences The Trump administration stopped the assessment Fights persist over oil and gas drilling near Front Range homes six years after reorganization law changed permitting Moms in dilemma jobs lost The human cost of Trump s addiction funding cuts Why cameras are popping up in eldercare facilities This chaos and abandonment of the Department s core functions was not an unintended side effect but rather the intended consequence of the MAHA Directive they mentioned They want a judge to vacate the directive because they say the administration can t unilaterally eliminate programs and funding that have been created by Congress The restructuring eliminated the entire crew of people who maintain the federal poverty guidelines used by states to determine whether residents are eligible for Medicaid nutrition assistance and other programs A tobacco prevention agency was gutted Staff losses also were critical at the Substance Abuse and Mental Physical condition Services Administration The Trump administration is already facing other legal challenges over cuts to residents healthcare agencies and research organizations A coalition of states filed a federal lawsuit in Rhode Island last month over the administration s decision to cut billion in federal funds for COVID- initiatives and various general physical condition projects across the country Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get strength news sent straight to your inbox