ICYMI: “Maryland Joins 22 States Suing to Block HHS, RFK Jr. from Canceling $11B in Public Health Funding” [Baltimore Sun]

Maryland’s health programs could lose up to $200 million

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT.

Baltimore Sun: Maryland Joins 22 States Suing to Block HHS, RFK Jr. from Canceling $11B in Public Health Funding

By Racquel Bazos

April 1, 2025

• Maryland has joined 22 states in a federal lawsuit over the termination of some $11 billion in funds from the Department of Health and Human Services and its secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Office of the Attorney General said Tuesday.

• While the funding cancellation could cost billions for the affected states, the release says Maryland could lose up to $200 million.

• “If the funding is not restored, important state public health programs and initiatives will have to be dissolved or disbanded, including vital funding to support vaccination programs, track disease outbreaks, and alleviate health disparities,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a news release Tuesday.

• “The Trump Administration’s reckless and unlawful termination of $11 billion in critical public health grants is a dangerous assault on our State’s ability to protect our residents when infectious diseases like the measles or bird flu are on the rise,” Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, said in the release.

• “I am outraged that the President would cut this lifeline with zero warning, threatening to dismantle vital health services our communities depend on. I will fight with every legal tool available to reverse this indefensible decision before it costs Marylanders their lives,” Brown said.

See also: Hundreds of HHS Employees Line Up Outside Agency To “Find Out If Their Job is Gone”