Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s department hastily reversed a plan to cancel billions in federal health funding, restoring money for mental health and substance abuse programs less than a day after recipients were told it had been pulled.
The Department of Health and Human Services reinstated $2 billion tied to programs overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an administration official confirmed to NBC News. The move followed widespread backlash after groups were notified of the cuts, which would have disrupted services nationwide.
The reversal came after the department, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., informed organizations that funding associated with SAMHSA would be canceled. The agency supports a broad range of efforts, including suicide and crisis phone lines, opioid treatment programs, behavioral health services following disasters, and other mental health initiatives.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the administration retreated under pressure. Kennedy, she said, had “bowed to public pressure.”
“These are cuts he should not have issued in the first place,” DeLauro said in a statement. “He must be cautious when making decisions that will impact Americans’ health. Our policy must be thoughtful—not haphazard and chaotic. This episode has only created uncertainty and confusion for families and healthcare providers.”
The initial cancellation immediately drew alarm from medical professionals and advocacy groups, who warned that the funding loss would upend already strained systems of care.
The American College of Emergency Physicians said it was “deeply concerned” by the proposed cuts. “These abrupt cuts threaten to dismantle the fragile continuum of care that helps people access treatment early and stay connected to services,” said Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo, the group’s president.
Daniel H. Gillison Jr., chief executive officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, described the plan as “disheartening and cruel” in a statement issued before the funds were restored.
“These abrupt and unjustified cuts will immediately disrupt suicide prevention efforts, family and peer recovery support, overdose prevention and treatment, and mental health awareness and education programming, along with so many more essential services, putting an unknown number of lives at stake,” Gillison said.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been contacted for further information following the reversal.
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