In this Nov. 30, 2021, photo, syringes and vials of naloxone are shown during a media tour of the OnPoint supervised drug injection site in New York.
Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images
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Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images
A Trump administration official confirmed to NPR that sweeping cuts to mental health and addictions programs worth more than $2 billion are being reversed.
The letters ending funding were sent Tuesday night and sent shockwaves through the country’s public health system. Letters restoring that funding will be sent soon.
After a political backlash from Republicans and Democrats, the Department of Health and Human Services changed course and the grant money will be restored.
This decision to end funding took healthcare providers across the United States completely by surprise, prompting a powerful backlash from lawmakers in Washington and organizations across the country. The story was first reported by NPR.
Now, an administration official with direct knowledge of the decision, who asked NPR not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak about the change, says the decision is being reversed and the grants are being reinstated.
According to the source, more than 2,000 organizations and grant recipients will be notified as soon as possible.
Public health advocates said their organizations were breathing a sigh of relief but also alarmed and trembling.
“It was a day of panic across the country. People are deeply alarmed, but they are hopeful that this money will be recovered,” said Hannah Wesolowski of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“This speaks to the bipartisan support in Congress for mental health. We heard from offices on both sides of the political aisle that were working on this issue all day,” he added.
The termination letters sent Tuesday bluntly said that a wide range of mental health and addictions programs did not align with the Trump administration’s public health agenda and would no longer receive funding. This caught care providers by surprise.
The backlash sparked a series of high-level meetings within the Trump administration and by Wednesday night the decision had been reversed.
NPR has not been able to determine who made the initial decision to cut these funds, nor did sources say who made the decision to restore the money.
U.S. public health officials described the past 48 hours as chaotic.