Health Impacts in America

“We are a rich nation and can afford many things. But ill-health which can be prevented or cured is one thing we cannot afford.” – Harry S. Truman, 1945

𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥, 𝐛𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭.

Among the many controversial nominees ultimately confirmed to Donald Trump’s cabinet, one of the most controversial was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I heard a lot of support for his ideas on removing additives in food and cutting down on the prevalence of processed food in American diets. Simultaneously, I heard a lot of opposition to his skepticism of modern medicine, vaccines and mental health issues in particular.

As we journey through the third month of his second Presidency, today I want to look at the wide-reaching effects of the Trump Administration on human health in the United States.

With the constant swirl of headline news from this administration, the continued measles outbreak in Texas rarely seems to make the front page in today’s news. However, as the head of Health and Human Services continues to downplay the efficacy and safety of vaccines, cases of the disease are still rising in Texas and outbreaks are beginning in many other states. From a total of 285 cases in 2024, we have already seen 483¹ cases in 2025. In addition to measles outbreaks, we have also seen an increase in Vitamin A Toxicity as Kennedy Jr. pushes it as an alternative treatment for measles. These actions directly jeopardize the health of America.

This week, news broke that the administration was cutting tens of thousands of jobs from the CDC, FDA, and NIH; despite claims of transparency, the team that responds to FOIA requests was among these cuts. These groups are responsible for a wide array of government programs, most notably including tracking infectious diseases (see measles, above), ensuring the safety of our food supply, and medical research. Cuts to these critical departments put America at higher risk of food borne illness and transmissible diseases, on top of harming future health outcomes in the face of disease.

As part of the initiative to cut wasteful spending, hundreds, if not thousands, of grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health have been cancelled; most of these grants are for research already under way and these projects are now at risk of ending prematurely, without results. The research being cancelled includes cancer, cardiac health, vaccines, and mental health. Cancelling research grants hurts the long-term health of America, and America’s status as a leader in medical research.

The Trump administration is planning to cut 83,000 jobs from Veterans Affairs. This department is responsible for providing health care to American Military Veterans. As we already have reports of staffing shortages at the VA which lead to challenges for our veterans in obtaining the medical care they deserve, cutting this agency will only exacerbate the serious issues within the agency. Cutting 20% of the staff at Veterans Affairs will cause immediate harm to the 9+ million veterans enrolled in its services.

The CDC has cited the end of the Covid-19 Pandemic as rationale for cancelling grants and contracts awarded to state and local governments. While this funding was initially intended strictly for the purpose of tracking and fighting the pandemic, last year the funding was opened up for use in other areas. This sudden cut in resources will hamper many states’ efforts to improve their health departments and potentially strain state budgets. Cutting state and local resources for tracking health care heightens risk of increased disease. ²

Among the first actions of this new administration were drastic cuts to the USAID program. The spending allocated in this program helps fund nutrition and health care programs worldwide, along with many international non-profit organizations dedicated to combating issues tied to poverty. While this action will directly harm international citizens, it will also harm our diplomatic efforts. Moreover, as we saw clearly in 2020, infectious disease transmission does not follow international borders and this will open up new pathways for disease to spread worldwide, including in the United States. Curtailing USAID increases the likelihood of infectious disease in the United States. ³

Each of these actions, on its own, will create immediate uncertainty in the health and well-being of America. However, taking all of these actions together makes it even more difficult to project the final outcome of the Trump administration’s health policies. However, each of these actions is detrimental to the health of America and a compound effect of them all together is likely to significantly worsen health outcomes in the United States for years to come.

Note 1 – this value will likely increase in the coming days – the source from the CDC below should have an updated figure, but with some of the cuts discussed in this post, I am not sure if that is true.

Note 2 – As many states, Iowa included, are pushing to decrease state-level income taxes, federal cuts have an additional risk of creating budget shortfalls at the state and local levels. A deficit is already projected in Iowa.

Note 3 – Historically, worse conditions from disease, violence, and hunger have contributed to mass migration; given the current immigration stance in the United States, I imagine this migration may look different than in years past.

Sources:

RFK Jr. weighing FDA crackdown on food additives under Trump – CBS News

RFK Jr. Says Ultra-Processed Foods are ‘Poison’ | TIME

Trump, RFK Jr. go after antidepressants, weight loss drugs. Here’s what the science says – ABC News

Texas reports latest measles numbers as cases continue to spread | Fox News

Measles Cases and Outbreaks | Measles (Rubeola) | CDC

Some measles patients in West Texas show signs of vitamin A toxicity, doctors say, raising concerns about misinformation | CNN

Trump Administration Begins Layoffs at CDC, FDA and Other Health Agencies – The New York Times

Scholars, groups sue Trump administration over canceled NIH research funding | CNN

HHS Grants Terminated

5 reasons federal cuts are hitting veterans especially hard | PBS News

Veterans groups raise the alarm about DOGE cuts at the VA : NPR