IDOH estimates it could lose about $40 million after federal government cuts COVID-19 funding

The Indiana Department of Health said it was notified this week the federal government canceled COVID-19 grants given to the state. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is pulling back funding from state and local health departments across the country.

IDOH was notified on Tuesday the grants were terminated despite having a previously extended grant timeline. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to recover money within 30 days of when departments were notified according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Rachel Swartwood, IDOH legislative and external affairs director, said the agency will be losing millions of dollars.

“We're still evaluating that and digging into the full impact, but we think it's in the world of $40 million,” Swartwood said.

Swartwood said the agency isn’t sure the full extent of the impact this will have on the agency. But, she said IDOH officials are hoping to avoid specific losses.

“We are working with our team to evaluate what's going on, communicating with our staff, and our goal is to ensure that no direct services to Hoosiers are disrupted,” Swartwood said.

The CDC is rescinding more than $11 billion total from health departments as well as some nongovernment and international recipients.

According to AP reporting, officials said the funding was mostly used for COVID-19 testing, vaccination and community health workers responding to COVID-19. It also established a program in 2021 to address COVID-19 health disparities among high-risk and underserved patients.
 

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues.
 

IDOH did not respond to a request for comment on what they planned to use the $40 million for or how they plan to respond to the loss of funding.

In a statement, HHS said it would "no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars" on COVID-19 relief anymore.

Nationally, the CDC reports there are still hundreds of COVID-19 deaths per week.

While there is no longer a declared public health emergency, health experts aren’t as quick to move past COVID-19.

Nationally, there are still hundreds of COVID-19 deaths per week, according to the CDC. And there are still new infections, hospitalizations and long COVID diagnoses. Long COVID can lead to long-term health impacts, including accelerating heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions.

In addition, experts have identified a wave-like pattern to how COVID-19 behaves. One epidemiologist explained that COVID-19 doesn’t have seasons like the flu does. Instead, it acts more like a wave. A surge will take about eight to 12 weeks to “crest,” eight to 12 weeks to diminish, and another eight to 12 weeks to stay relatively low before another wave starts — meaning there could be more than one surge in a year.

Abigail is our health reporter. Contact them at aruhman@wboi.org.