North Carolina attorney general sues federal government over $230M health funding cuts

Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, April 1 against the federal government, for attempting to cut more than $230 million in health care funding for North Carolina. Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified North Carolina and other states that it was immediately terminating more than $11 billion in health care funding nationwide. HHS is required to pay out funds that Congress appropriated, and failed to follow the legal process for ending funds, per a release.

According to a release, health departments statewide may need to end public health programs and lay off staff, making it harder for North Carolinians to get the health care they need.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson released the following statement:

My job is to be a shield for the people of North Carolina – and that includes protecting their health care. The federal government can’t just cancel nearly a quarter billion dollars that have already been congressionally allocated to our state. It’s unlawful – and dangerous. That money supports rural hospitals, health care workers, emergency services, and public health programs that protect seniors and families across North Carolina. There are legal ways to improve how tax dollars are used, but this wasn’t one of them. Immediately halting critical health care programs across the state without legal authority isn’t just wrong – it puts lives at risk. That’s why we’re going to court.

According to a release, the loss of over $230 million in federal health funding would harm health care access in North Carolina, including the following things that cutting this funding would impact:

• Local health programs in at least 77 of North Carolina’s 86 health departments, particularly in North Carolina’s rural counties.
• Community-based organizations and community health workers who have been providing care and resources to people impacted by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.
• County-based nurses who investigate disease outbreaks.
• Collection and analysis of infection control data, which is critical for humans as well as North Carolina’s farming economy and livestock industry.
• EMS programs in six counties (Davie, Durham, Gaston, Surry, Orange, and Cumberland counties).
• Response to outbreaks of infectious disease in high-risk places like nursing homes and assisted living facilities, where North Carolina’s older population is at risk.
• Effective control and prevention of the spread of infections, like the flu. North Carolina just experienced its worst flu season in 15 years, leading to more than 382 deaths.
• Substance use disorder treatment programs, especially in rural areas, and the loss of behavioral health therapists and substance use treatment specialists who are critical to North Carolina’s fight against the addiction crisis.
• Collegiate substance misuse recovery programs that operate in 14 North Carolina colleges and universities (Appalachian State University, Elizabeth City State University, East Carolina University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina A&T State University, NC State University, North Carolina Central University, UNC Asheville, UNC Charlotte, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, and Winston-Salem State University).

According to a release, Attorney General Jackson is joined in filing this lawsuit by the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin, and the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.