Attorney General Dana Nessel, representing Michigan, has joined a multi-state coalition in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over the cancellation of nearly $11 billion in public health grants, which includes $379.3 million designated for Michigan, according to an announcement from the Michigan Attorney General's office today. These funds were earmarked for a variety of essential services ranging from children's vaccinations to substance abuse treatment, and their sudden withdrawal has caused disruption and concern among stakeholders and beneficiaries.
The terminated grants in Michigan covered crucial areas, including mental health services for those with severe illnesses or emotional disturbances and substance abuse grants meant to bolster services for marginalized groups such as pregnant women, women with children, opioid users, and rural populations, as well as CDC funding for infectious disease control, critical for laboratory upgrades and healthcare-associated infection responses in local health departments; additionally, grants for children's immunization and vaccination programs were also cut, which were in the process of being used to host vaccine clinics and support translation services for non-English speaking communities, this sudden withdrawal, without a warning or legally valid explanation, has thrown the MDHHS and other public health entities into a state of havoc, leaving employees, partners, and service recipients flooded with questions and anxieties over the future of public health services in the state.
In their legal challenge, the coalition asserts that the action to terminate the grants "for cause," based on the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, holds no legal ground, particularly since these funds were not specifically tied to the pandemic's duration, and their abrupt cancellation violates federal law the states are seeking a temporary restraining order to halt Secretary Kennedy's and HHS's actions, arguing they contravene the Administrative Procedure Act, Michigan alone stands to lose out on the distribution of more than $80 million directly to state grant recipients as a result of these terminations, which impact over 300 grants.
Joining Michigan in this lawsuit are attorneys general from 23 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, who collectively warn that the HHS cuts jeopardize the public health of their states amidst the rising threats of diseases such as measles and bird flu, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, according to the Michigan Attorney General's announcement.
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