Public Health and Economic Fallout Likely in Wake of CDC Cuts, Expert Warns

Approximately 10,000 jobs will be cut within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to an HHS news release posted yesterday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of HIV Prevention will likely feel the effects of the cuts, which would impact HIV prevention and care, according to Terri L. Wilder, MSW, an HIV/aging policy advocate at the elder LGBTQ+ organization SAGE.

Wilder recently spoke with Managed Healthcare Executive and explained the types of services the CDC division currently funds and how the cut will impact healthcare.

Terri L. Wilder, MSW

“In a nutshell, it's a disaster,” Wilder said. “This CDC HIV prevention money is really critical, because a lot of the money goes through states’ departments of health that then release it out to the community.”

Wilder went on to explain that these cuts aren’t just a threat to public health programs but to the country’s economy as well.

“If we don't look at it from a public health lens, then maybe people could look at it through an economic lens,” Wilder said. “When a person is diagnosed with HIV, it's an over $500,000 cost in lifetime treatment, so prevention saves money; it saves lives. For me, that's the bottom line for me, is that it saves lives, but think about the cost to our country. Think about the cost to our fragile healthcare system.”

Approximately 27,900 HIV infections were prevented between 2012 and 2022, resulting in an estimated $15.1 billion saved in lifetime medical costs, according to data from the Division of HIV Prevention Federal AIDS Policy Partnership meeting in 2024.