The Louisiana Department of Health was among several state agencies that received notice Monday of a sudden loss of federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to state officials.
The department received “a series of emails that were slightly difficult to interpret” that they believe will end six grants, said Karen Stubbs, assistant secretary of the Office of Behavioral Health, during a Senate Committee on Finance hearing Tuesday. Three were mental health grants, and three were related to substance use.
Dr. Pete Croughan, deputy secretary, estimated the funding loss at approximately $10 million. At Tuesday’s meeting, first reported by The Louisiana Illuminator, the agency was still assessing the impact on staffing.
Stubbs noted that two of the six grants had already ended earlier this month, and the remaining four were scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
This abrupt loss of funding is part of a broader termination of over $12 billion in federal grants by HHS this week. Originally allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic for testing and vaccination, much of the funding was later used by states for infectious disease tracking, mental health services, childhood vaccinations and emergency preparedness. A smaller portion came from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA.
In Louisiana, SAMHSA funds support a range of behavioral health services, including mental health crisis response, substance use treatment, the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, and peer and community support programs.
As of Thursday, the Louisiana Department of Health was continuing to assess the impact of the termination.
"The department is still reviewing all grants associated with this funding to determine the unused balance that was canceled," Communications Director Emma Herrock wrote in an email.
Interim Secretary of Health Drew Maranto said that Medicaid funding remains unchanged, and that a recent executive order from President Donald Trump eliminating funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts had not impacted staffing or funding at the department.
Drew Maranto has been named the interim secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
The $10 million loss came to light during Tuesday’s budget hearing when Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe, raised concerns about the potential effects of federal cuts on Louisiana.
Jackson-Andrews asked LDH to keep the Senate informed on the impact to the state. She had not heard news from the Louisiana Department of Health as of Thursday. She pointed out that cuts to mental health and substance use programs could have broad consequences, especially given that, earlier in the hearing, state officials identified drug overdose as the leading cause of maternal death in Louisiana.
Rep. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe, in 2019.
“When you hear that the federal government is cutting mental health funds to Louisiana, when Louisiana is already doing everything it can to find mental health funds ... that is extremely concerning,” said Jackson-Andrews on Thursday.
