DENVER — Colorado will lose hundreds of millions in federal funding this year.
The Trump administration is canceling $230 million in federal grants that funded several Colorado health programs, including programs to track COVID-19, provide vaccine outreach, and help Coloradans experiencing behavioral and mental health challenges. The federal government distributed the money to states as part of its COVID-19 response.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the money is being wasted and the administration is taking the funding back.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” HHS said in a statement. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”
Kristina Iodice, communications director for the disease control and public health response division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), said the funding has been essential to helping the state vaccinate people.
“This funding has helped protect Coloradans by ensuring vaccines reach communities where people might otherwise struggle to access them, whether through mobile clinics, local health agencies, or partnerships with trusted community organizations,” said Iodice. “It has supported families by strengthening disease tracking and outbreak response, helping prevent the spread of illnesses in schools, workplaces, and high-risk settings like nursing homes.”
Iodice said 54 people in Colorado died from COVID-19 in January. She said the grants also helped the state upgrade labs and data systems to keep better track of diseases and give public health experts tools to respond quickly.
“By funding outreach, education, and vaccine availability, these grants ensure that people — especially those in underserved and rural areas — have the information and access they need to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Iodice.
Iodice said $634 million was originally sent to the CDPHE. Of that, $435 million was spent over the past five years. Behavioral and mental health programs will lose $31 million.
The Colorado Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) said 60 programs across the state would be impacted. This includes crisis resolution teams, services for adults with serious mental illness (SMI), peer services for Coloradans in recovery for substance use disorder, and support for young adults who have experienced an early onset of psychotic spectrum illness.
“In so many cases, these are life-saving programs and services, and we worry for the wellbeing of those who have come to count on this support,” said Allie Eliot, chief communications officer for the BHA. “The people of Colorado are the BHA’s top priority and we will continue to fight for easy access to high-quality, affordable behavioral health services across the state. We are also actively working with executive leadership, the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office to determine next steps.”
Susan Lontine, the director of Immunize Colorado, said the cuts come as public health programs and vaccine outreach are already underfunded and under-resourced.
“And so, this will just make a bad situation worse,” said Lontine.
Lontine said she was still trying to figure out the exact impact it would have on her organization.
“I'm sure that there will be things that we had relied upon that we thought that we would be able to have access or that even maybe our own funding might be in jeopardy,” said Lontine.
The Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council (CBHC), a membership and advocacy organization for Colorado’s behavioral health safety net providers, said the grants provided critical funding.
“These grants help fund essential programs and services that Medicaid cannot,” said Kara Johnson-Hufford, the chief executive officer for CBHC.
Johnson-Hufford said CBHC’s providers are still trying to figure out the impact of the cuts.
“It's the most vulnerable people in our communities who will suffer,” said Johnson-Hufford. “I think healthcare providers, behavioral health included, are resilient and they will continue to assess what quality services can be delivered with this changing environment.”
With a $1 billion budget deficit, the state may not be able to make up for the loss in federal funding. State Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, said lawmakers will have to make tough decisions.
“I'm not going to just be okay with us cutting services and not finding any other avenue to get people the care they need,” said Amabile. “So, we will have to figure it out."
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