When the Cuts Come, So Will the Consequences
This is why medical societies exist. We organize. We advocate. WE ACT.
by Nancy L. Belcher, Ph.D., MPA | CEO KCMS
As most of you likely know, over $12 billion in federal public health funding was suddenly cut last week, eliminating grants that were being used for infectious disease tracking, addiction treatment, mental health services, and suicide prevention. This cut in funding is immediate—and it is deadly.
State health departments nationwide received notice that federal grants—initially funded through COVID-19 relief bills—were terminated effective immediately. These were not future funds. They were dollars already in use, supporting programs and people engaged in critical public health work.
In Texas, public health teams responding to a growing measles outbreak were told to stop their work immediately. In Colorado, behavioral health programs supporting individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders are now at risk of collapsing. In Alaska, long-overdue efforts to modernize outdated health data systems will be abandoned mid-project.
Across the country, state officials began preparing for mass layoffs—epidemiologists, contact tracers, suicide prevention counselors, and addiction support workers are being told to pack up and go. These positions were created to patch the system after the pandemic revealed its deepest cracks. And now, those cracks will widen.
We've seen what happens when public health is underfunded. During COVID-19, delayed responses and overwhelmed infrastructure cost lives. KCMS has worked hard in Washington to build a better path. During the pandemic, we partnered with the Washington State Department of Health to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, telehealth equipment, and PPE to frontline healthcare workers. We've collaborated with Public Health – Seattle & King County on initiatives focused on lead poisoning prevention, pollution reduction, mental health access, suicide prevention, and firearm injury reduction.
Our advocacy extends statewide and nationally. KCMS physicians have authored and passed resolutions on public health policy, calling for transparency, investment in the health workforce, and protection of evidence-based care. We do this because we know that public health is not optional. It is essential.
We cannot stand by and watch $12 billion get taken out of the public health system and expect it to remain standing. Every delayed vaccine, every missed referral, every patient who falls through the cracks—these aren't statistics. These are people.—parents, children, neighbors. And we, as scientists and physicians, must be their voice.
KCMS will advocate for restoring this funding and protecting systems that keep our communities safe. But KCMS cannot do it alone. We need you.
This is why medical societies exist. We organize. We advocate. We act.
- Share this message with your colleagues.
- Encourage them, and your friends, to join KCMS today.
- If you haven't renewed, renew now.
- If you haven't joined, it's fast, it's easy, and it matters.
In advocacy, numbers speak — and when we speak together, we save lives.
📩 Please share your experiences: info@kcmsociety.org
