The Trump Administration while busy guilding everything in sight with gold and expanding the White House ballroom, has still managed to cause a massive curtailment in public health resources. Here is the list of his administration’s actions in order of priority, which are most deleterious to global health.
Cutting billions in grants for medical research causing public universities and research groups to layoff thousands of scientists. These cuts include 16 billion in economic losses and 60,000 in jobs. Some of the research programs have been in existence for fifteen years and the lead investigators will take their programs to other countries to continue their work. France, Switzerland, and Canada are all global research centers. It is estimated the loss of these experts, value of medical technology and treatments generated by medical research will cause a permanent four percent reduction in GDP for the United States.
Stopping the funding of USAID destined for disease prevention and treatment in the developing world, and demonically highlighted by the Trump Administration’s order to burn 9.7 million dollars of birth control products in Belgium, on August 7, 2025. This despite a U.S. based nonprofit’s offer to distribute the IUDs. hormonal implants, and birth control pills for free within the United States. Apparently, people in the Trump Administration are still confused on basic birth control, as none of these products were abortifants, the reason cited for their destruction. And where were these often life saving devices destined, to Africa, where lack of basic maternal health is rife and loss of life for mother and child is common. Albeit, thanks to the originalist conclusions of the U.S. Supreme Court, maternal deaths are on the rise here too. A further curtailment of Medicaid funding will only worsen the access for prenatal and postnatal care. Many maternal deaths occur after discharge from a hospital, where follow-up care is limited. When a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?
Removal
of clinical and scientific experts on the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) review
board for approval of medical interventions, including drugs, which will result
in more specious, extremely expensive, and dangerous treatments offered without
due diligence in the United States. In June, HHS Secretary Kennedy fired all seventeen
experts on the review board for vaccines, which were replaced by eight persons,
including vaccine skeptics.
Direct
cuts to public health programs including vaccine development, disease
surveillance, and access to care will result in the closure of many clinics and
hospitals in rural areas. The Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act
(BBBA) disqualifies legal immigrants from Medicaid benefits eligibility
and makes draconian cuts to Medicaid which will eviscerate coverage for 16
million people.
Republicans who voted for the bill essentially are ripping off their own people. It is estimated that 700 hospitals, about a third of all rural facilities will close. Here is a statewide list of rural hospitals that have the most at risk because of the shortsightedness of the Trump Administration Medicaid cuts. (Data is current as of July 2025)
Stopping
the approval and funding of the highly effective Rna vaccines, which were
developed quickly and saved thousands of lives during the Covid Pandemic, which
was of course, preceded by appointing the anti-vaxer, with no medical
background, Robert Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health & Human Services.
Further restrictions on access to birth control, reproductive rights, and maternal and child health, with a patchwork of state laws since the Trump appointed-Catholic dominated-Originalistic-Supreme Court overturned Roe-v-Wade in 2022. Women forced to fly outside their state of domicile to obtain urgent medical care during pregnancy complications, even those which are life threatening. Doctors are refusing to provide care for fear of losing their medical license in Idaho, Texas, and other states.
Eviscerating
healthcare savings to taxpayers if the healthcare entity donated to the Trump
Campaign; case in point, overriding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
decision not to reimburse for some of the outrageously costly and no more
effective skin coverings for diabetic wound care. Because some of these
products come under the biologic rulings, they are considered a new treatment
and are more-or-less allowed to charge whatever they want, because the Medicare
rules stipulate reimbursement at 6% of whatever the medical device company
charges. Diabetic foot ulcers represent 16% of the total Medicare
population, but the cost just for the skin coverings is over 10 billion
annually for taxpayers.
References
Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
(2025). Rural Hospitals At Risk of Closure. Center for Healthcare
Quality and Payment Reform. Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment
Reform.org. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from ruralhospitals.chqpr.org
Kaiser Family Foundation.org. (2025, May).
https://www.kff.org/statedata/collection/measures-to-identify-states-at-greater-risk-if-federal-medicaid-spending-is-reduced/.
Retrieved August 7, 2025, from
https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/state-indicator/state-activity-around-expanding-medicaid-under-the-affordable-care-act/?currentTimeframe=0&selectedDistributions=status-of-medicaid-expansion-decision&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%
Manadivilli, A. (2025, August 7). On Vaccines,
Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With the Mainstream. The New York Times.
Retrieved August 7, 2025, from On Vaccines, Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With
the Mainstream
Mandavilli, A. (2025, June 24). Vaccine Panel Gutted
By Kennedy-Loses Member Ahead of First Meeting. The New York Times.
Retrieved August 7, 2025, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/us/politics/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-panel.html
Mia Ives-Rublee, K. M. (2025, July 3). The Truth
About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Progress.org.
Retrieved August 7, 2025, from
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-truth-about-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-cuts-to-medicaid-and-medicare/#:~:text=The%20bill%20will%20put%20rural%20hospitals%20at%20risk&text=Rural%20hospitals%20have%20some%20of,risk%20when%20rural%20hospita
Pinder, J. (2025, July 21).
https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2025/07/in-turnaround-administration-proposes-limits-on-skin-substitute-industry/.
Clear Cut Costs. Retrieved August 7, 2025, from
https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2025/07/in-turnaround-administration-proposes-limits-on-skin-substitute-industry/
