HHS Cancels $12 Billion in COVID-Era Funding for State Health Departments

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has pulled back roughly $12 billion in federal grants that had been allocated to states during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said on March 26. HHS said the money was intended to be used for COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and other pandemic services. The agency began sending termination notices on Monday, according to a statement. “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,” the statement read. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in an email that the funds remain undisbursed....