SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s push to eliminate a federal disaster preparedness program threatens a fund used by state health systems from Republican-led Texas to the Democratic stronghold of California.<\/p>\n
The Hospital Preparedness Program<\/a> was created more than two decades ago in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City\u2019s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the deadly anthrax attacks that began days later. The fund has provided nearly $2.2 billion to states, territories, major cities, and other entities<\/a> over the past 17 years to ready health care systems for the next pandemic, cyberattack, or mass-casualty event.<\/p>\n Recently, that money has been used to combat the bird flu that has sickened at least 70 people<\/a> in the United States, killed at least one, and remains a threat<\/a>. The funds also have been used to respond to crises such as hurricanes, tornadoes, mass shootings, floods, and heat waves.<\/p>\n But the budget request<\/a> sent to Congress by Trump\u2019s budget director, Russell Vought, proposes eliminating the program, saying the effort \u201chas been wasteful and unfocused\u201d and that cutting it would allow states and cities to \u201cproperly\u201d fund their own preparedness plans. Any action is currently stalled by the government shutdown, which stems from a partisan dispute over expiring health care subsidies that affect many of the 24 million Americans who buy coverage<\/a> from Affordable Care Act marketplaces.<\/p>\n Red and blue states say the hospital preparedness funds are essential and could not be readily replaced with local funds. It\u2019s an example of how the White House\u2019s efforts to reduce its role in responding to public health<\/a> and natural disasters have imperiled state and municipal reliance on federal resources to meet community needs.<\/p>\n The program \u201cis the main source of government funding for disaster preparedness among hospitals, EMS providers, and other parts of the health care system,\u201d Texas Department of State Health Services spokesperson Chris Van Deusen said.<\/p>\n Texas received more than $20 million from the Hospital Preparedness Program this year, and Van Deusen said it\u2019s unlikely the state could backfill any federal funding gap in the short term since the budget has been finalized through August 2027.<\/p>\n The funds help Texas\u2019 health providers create disaster plans and test hospitals\u2019 ability to boost their capacity in an emergency, he said, while enabling the distribution of medical resources and patient loads so hospitals aren\u2019t overwhelmed during disasters. The program, along with state funding, supports the state\u2019s Emergency Medical Task Force<\/a>, which responded to deadly floods this year and the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, among many other emergencies.<\/p>\n Georgia, which received $13.5 million this year, \u201ccontinues to monitor and plan for potential changes to future federal funding while ensuring health care preparedness efforts across Georgia remain strong and sustainable,\u201d said public health spokesperson Eric Jens.<\/p>\n A California health official called the money vital to ensuring local health care systems can respond to emergencies beyond their usual capacity. The program is the only federal funding devoted to health care system preparedness for such catastrophes, said Department of Public Health spokesperson Robert Barsanti.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout this funding, California risks losing critical infrastructure for emergency response, weakening its ability to protect lives, maintain continuity of care, and meet federal preparedness benchmarks,\u201d Barsanti said.<\/p>\n As the most populous state, California receives the most money \u2014 nearly $29 million this year \u2014 as it struggles with a massive budget deficit and fights a running rhetorical battle with Trump administration officials. The funds go to the state\u2019s public health department; the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, which coordinates the state\u2019s emergency medical system; health care associations; and about 60 local entities. Los Angeles County, with more than a quarter of the state\u2019s population, received an additional $11 million, and the University of California system got $1.2 million.<\/p>\n Neither the White House, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which administers the program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor the Office of Management and Budget responded to repeated requests for comment about the May proposal to cut the Hospital Preparedness Program.<\/p>\n The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response has seen an 81% reduction<\/a> in employees over the past year, The New York Times reported. It\u2019s by far the largest workforce reduction at HHS and part of the wider culling of federal workers under Trump.<\/p>\n Already, HHS has delayed the distribution of this year\u2019s Hospital Preparedness Program funds by nearly three months. The funds were supposed to be available to states for use starting in July, but the bulk of the money was not released until late September. Health officials in the waning days of the Biden administration had wanted to quickly distribute<\/a> the funds for the nation\u2019s response to the H5N1 bird flu.<\/p>\n The months-long delay \u201cis yet another example of how changes and uncertainty at the federal level threaten critical public health programs in New York state,\u201d said Department of Health spokesperson Cadence Acquaviva. Despite health officials\u2019 best efforts, \u201cdelays or elimination of funding places New Yorkers at significant risk in the event of a disaster or emergency,\u201d Acquaviva said.<\/p>\n New York state received nearly $14 million, and New York City more than $9 million.<\/p>\n Illinois Department of Public Health spokesperson Jim Leach said the medical system needs the federal funds to prepare for natural and human-caused disasters of every sort, \u201cregardless of the ebb and flow of any single disease.\u201d<\/p>\n Illinois and Chicago received a combined $15 million from the preparedness program.<\/p>\n During emergencies, the state\u2019s federally funded crisis response program \u201cturns hundreds of Illinois hospitals, EMS, and other health care facilities into a single, coordinated system,\u201d Leach said, adding it saves both lives and taxpayer dollars. \u201cIf there is a natural disaster or an infectious disease outbreak, a state would not be able to react quickly enough without the HPP funds.\u201d<\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. 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