The El Paso Department of Public Health lost $3.5 million in grants this year and braces for more potential cuts after the Trump administration slashed funding for federal health agencies and clawed back pandemic-era grants – even if the grants had not expired.
The budget for El Paso’s health department declined in the last three years, and more than half of the agency’s budget comes from grants, according to the city’s budget books.
Of the total loss in federal grants, the health department calculated more than $3.2 million came from unspent pandemic-era grants that had not yet expired, El Paso Public Health Director Dr. Vinny Taneja said in an email. The rest of the loss comes from other grants.
Though the federal government initially earmarked pandemic-era grants to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, local health agencies had leeway to use the money to bolster other efforts, such as tracking infectious diseases, preparing for future emergencies and expanding free to low-cost community health services.
Taneja said that while the department has retained most services, the cuts have reduced the scope and resources for several key programs in El Paso: Epidemiology, laboratory services, immunizations, health education, emergency preparedness and the tuberculosis program.
The health department spent most of its pandemic-era grants before the recall, Taneja said. In an attempt to keep the rest of the unspent funds, the department contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“Unfortunately, both entities confirmed that there was no current recourse to retain the funds,” Taneja said.
Some grants will continue at a reduced amount while others ended completely. El Paso’s Infectious Disease Control Unit lost $2.75 million after its grant ended – a significant blow to the city’s epidemiology and laboratory operations, Taneja said. The unit is responsible for preventing, controlling and investigating the spread of infectious diseases, from COVID-19 to mpox to measles.
Nearly 4,000 people in El Paso died from COVID-19 during the pandemic. This year, more than 60 people in El Paso have contracted measles, while nationwide, measles cases have hit a record high since the CDC declared the disease eliminated in 2000.
Other grants that ended include the CDC Health Equity Grant and COVID Immunizations Grant. The TB (Tuberculosis) Program, Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Lab Response Network grants will also see recurring annual reductions, Taneja added.
“News of potential cuts is always difficult, as it directly affects our ability to hire and retain the staff necessary to fulfill program goals and serve the public effectively,” Taneja said.
The public health department has eliminated eight grant-funded positions and in the process of phasing out three more. The equivalent of nearly 25 full-time employees were initially affected by grant losses, but the agency was able to preserve most of those positions by reallocating internal funds, Taneja said.
Fickle federal funding strains public health services
Federal funding instability threatens public health services across the country.
Local health agencies were rattled in January when President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on federal grants – only to rescind the order two days later.
Earlier this year the Texas health department asked local agencies to pause activities related to HIV prevention and treatment because of funding uncertainty. El Paso continued payroll support for impacted staff until the state lifted the pause and restored funding, allowing HIV-related services to continue, Taneja said.
On July 4, Trump signed into law a tax and spending bill that cuts Medicaid and could cause more than 300,000 Texans enrolled to lose their health insurance. About 23% of El Pasoans are enrolled in Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income and disabled people, according to a 2023 data analysis from Georgetown University.
The Medicaid cuts could lower reimbursements that fund health care providers, including El Paso’s city-run community health clinics, which provide low-cost immunizations to children enrolled in Medicaid.
“That means people will not have access to preventative health care, so people will get sicker,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso said during a recent news conference. “That means Americans with disabilities, including children, will not have access to services that they need.”
Local public health agencies are preparing for the possibility the Trump administration will squeeze them further. In June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a budget for the 2026 fiscal year that would take away more than half the federal funding for the CDC and other HHS programs, and funnel it into Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s planned Administration for a Healthy America.
The majority of the CDC’s funding trickles down to state and local health agencies. In 2023, the CDC awarded El Paso a five-year, $10 million Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
Taneja side-stepped commenting on Kennedy’s public health leadership.
“Our focus remains on advancing public health initiatives like vaccinations and preventive education,” Taneja said. “A recent example of this is our community-wide measles vaccination effort in response to a local outbreak, which highlights both the department’s commitment and the community’s strong engagement.”
Taneja said he’s attended multiple meetings, both in-person and virtually, regarding upcoming potential cuts.
“We are actively engaged in contingency planning to prepare for future funding shortfalls,” Taneja said. “Additionally, we are exploring non-grant funding opportunities to diversify our revenue streams and reduce reliance on any single funding source.”
The post El Paso loses $3.5 million in public health grants after Trump cuts appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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