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Alliance Alert: The recent news of over $360 million in federal health and behavioral health cuts to ���������� State is deeply alarming—and the impact on our most vulnerable communities will be immediate and harmful. These cuts, announced abruptly by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), target the Department of Health, Office of Mental Health (OMH), and Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS)—just as these systems were beginning to stabilize after years of underinvestment and pandemic-related strain.

Among the programs facing reductions:

• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams
• Outreach for individuals experiencing homelessness
• 988 mental health crisis line expansion
• Transitional housing and outpatient addiction treatment

These are life-saving, community-based supports—and cutting them will undo hard-won progress, drive more people into crisis, and weaken our ability to respond to future public health threats.

Federal lawmakers must act to reverse these cruel and shortsighted decisions. But ���������� cannot afford to wait. The State must find ways to push back on these cuts and protect critical health infrastructure.

We echo the call from legislators and local officials across the state: Funding for public health and behavioral health is not government waste. They are foundational to safety, recovery, and community well-being.

We stand ready to fight these cuts—and we call on our partners at every level of government to do the same. See below for more.

DOGE Cuts to State Health Agencies Larger than Expected
By Amanda D’Ambrosio | Crain’s Health Pulse | March 28, 2025

Federal cuts to the state’s health budget could be 20% higher than officials initially anticipated, thrusting public health programs further into jeopardy, the governor said Friday.

State health officials are bracing to lose more than $360 million after President Donald Trump’s administration abruptly terminated $12 billion in federal Covid-19 relief this week, according to an estimate from Gov. Kathy Hochul. The estimated total cuts, spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, are an increase from the $300 million reduction the governor anticipated earlier this week. The growing tally could impact a myriad of disease programs and mental health services.

The state Department of Health itself expects to lose more than $300 million for programs that monitor infectious disease outbreaks, publish real-time virus surveillance data and promote infection control in hospitals and nursing homes. The reductions will strip the state of resources needed to prepare for future pandemics, according to State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald.

“We were poorly prepared as a nation for the last pandemic,” McDonald said in a statement. “I see the same pattern occurring now, where decisions are made without consideration for the public’s health and well-being.”

Cuts to the Health Department extend beyond the agency’s primary function of disease surveillance. The department will also lose a Covid-19 health disparities grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that supported programs to reduce inequities in maternal and infant health and food insecurity, according to the governor’s office.

Agencies that oversee the state’s response to the opioid epidemic and mental health crisis, both of which worsened during the pandemic, also expect to lose millions for treatment and recovery. The Office of Addiction Services and Supports is preparing to lose $40 million, while the Office of Mental Health expects a $27 million reduction, the state said.

Behavioral health providers fear that the unexpected funding loss will force them to , just as ���������� has begun to turn a corner on overdose rates and improved access to mental health treatment. Hochul has dedicated $1 billion over multiple years to bolster state mental health resources, but some of the programs she has supported could take a funding hit.

The Office of Mental Health expects to lose funding for assertive community treatment teams, street outreach groups intended to serve homeless individuals with severe mental illnesses, as well as grants to support the 988 mental health crisis hotline. The governor has supported both programs within her mental health plan.

The state’s losses add to a separate  to ���������� City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and come as the federal Department of Health and Human Services announced a massive restructuring that is expected to terminate 10,000 federal employees, a move that could shift communications with local health departments.

As state officials prepare to finalize the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Hochul has maintained that ���������� won’t be able to cover funds rescinded by the federal government.

“Here’s the sad truth: there is no state in the nation that has the resources to backfill these sweeping cuts,” Hochul said, pointing to ����������’s federal elected officials to push the Trump administration to restore the cuts.

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NY to Lose more than $360M for Public Health amid Sweeping Federal Cuts, Hochul Says
By Caroline Lewis | Gothamist | March 29, 2025

Sweeping federal cuts to state health grants will have a major impact on ����������’s ability to track infectious diseases and provide treatment for people with mental health and substance use issues, according to a  from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The state stands to lose more than $360 million as a result of the Trump administration’s decision to  in federal health grants, Hochul said in a statement Friday. The funds were allocated during the pandemic through COVID relief bills, which the Trump administration says are no longer needed.

���������� will lose $27 million for the state Office of Mental Health, $40 million for the Office of Addiction Services and Supports and $300 million for the state Department of Health, which will affect disease surveillance work across the state, Hochul said.

“Slashing funding for public health, suicide prevention and addiction services is just plain cruel, and it’s going to hurt everyday ����������ers most,” Hochul said in the statement. “Here’s the sad truth: There is no State in the nation that has the resources to backfill these sweeping cuts. It’s up to ����������’s elected officials who serve in the House [Republican] majority to stand up and fight back.”

U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrats who represent ����������, called on the Trump administration to reverse the cuts Thursday.

“Stopping the spread of measles is not government waste,” Schumer said. “Cutting off funding for addiction recovery programs in the middle of a fentanyl crisis and slashing mental health support is just plain cruel.”

The Trump administration has argued that COVID is no longer a concern, and thus the public health funding that was tied to COVID is no longer needed.

“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,” Andrew Nixon, communications director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,  to NBC, which first reported the cuts.

“HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” Nixon said.

The cuts to the state Department of Health will impact a wide range of services that are “core to public health functioning,” according to Hochul’s breakdown. That includes responding to disease outbreaks, infection prevention efforts in hospitals and nursing homes and support to local health departments.

Among the funding being cut is a COVID-19 Health Disparities Grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that supported 135 organizations across the state to address disparities in mental health, maternal and infant health and food security, Hochul said.

Within the realm of behavioral health, the federal grant money went toward expanding capacity for 988, the crisis and suicide hotline. It also supported transitional housing for people leaving residential treatment facilities, outpatient addiction treatment and  which do outreach to people with serious mental illnesses and provide them with treatment and help getting into housing.

The cuts come as Hochul and the legislature are finalizing the state budget, which is due April 1. Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether she will consider supplementing some of the lost federal dollars with state funds.

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Hochul decries Trump healthcare cuts, says NY will lose $360M in mental health, addiction services
KINGSTON, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that Trump administration cuts to ���������� state healthcare would have a devastating impact on vital programs.

Hochul’s office said the funding plan would result in the gutting of $360 million in financial resources toward mental health and addiction services and health departments across the state.

“Slashing funding for public health, suicide prevention and addiction services is just plain cruel, and it’s going to hurt everyday ����������ers most,” Hochul said in a statement. “Here’s the sad truth: there is no State in the nation that has the resources to backfill these sweeping cuts. It’s up to ����������’s elected officials who serve in the House majority to stand up and fight back.”

Dr. James McDonald, ���������� State Department of Health Commissioner, said the Trump administration cuts are shocking.

“It is disappointing these grants were terminated so impulsively without any advance notice and without consideration for the people we serve,” the commissioner said. “We were poorly prepared as a nation for the last pandemic. I see the same pattern occurring now, where decisions are made without consideration for the public’s health and well-being.”

Hochul’s office said, among other things, the Office of Mental Health expects to lose $27 million total in funding for programs and services for individuals experiencing mental health and/or substance use needs.

The governor said that the office of Addiction Services and Supports expects to lose $40 million total in funding, which will result in “significant cuts to addiction and prevention services, treatment supports and access to resources for individuals struggling with substance use.”

Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, D-Esopus, said while Hochu is somewhat correct in her assessment, the state needs to do more.

“Governor Hochul is partially right that no state in the nation can backfill sweeping federal cuts, but the current (state) budget negotiations indicate that she does not take the threats seriously enough, nor is she eager to backfill potential cuts that ���������� is well-poised to,” Shrestha said in an email.

Shrestha said that the most recent cuts totaling $367 million “is alarming, the amount is more or less loose change for ���������� considering its vast GDP, the amount of money we have in reserves, and the billions we can easily raise by accepting the Assembly’s modest proposals to increase taxes on the rich, including large corporate profits.”

“Yes, our representatives in Congress must act to prevent further cuts, but the state should be equally prepared to protect ����������ers from the impact of such cuts to its best ability,” Shrestha added. “Yet, not only has the Governor shown an unwillingness to make the rich pay their fair share and spend money where it’s needed, she has so far focused the budget negotiations on unrelated policy items that have no fiscal implications.”

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, a Democrat, said the Trump cuts lack humanity.

“It’s unconscionable for the Trump administration to cut over $300 million in funding to ����������ers for public health, including funding for mental health and substance use disorder programs when the needs of our communities for services in these areas are at an all-time high,” Metzger said in an email. “While we do not believe these cuts have direct budgetary implications for the County Health and Mental Health Departments, the overall impacts threaten to weaken our public health infrastructure in the state as well as supports for people struggling with behavioral health challenges.”