Deep cuts erode the foundations of US public health system, end progress, threaten worse to come

Americans are losing an array of people and programs dedicated to keeping them healthy. State and local health departments responsible for invisible but critical work including inspecting restaurants, monitoring wastewater for new and harmful germs, responding to outbreaks — and a host of other tasks to protect both individuals and communities — are being hollowed out. The Trump administration is cutting health spending on an unprecedented scale, pulling $11 billion of direct federal support and laying off tens of thousands of workers at national health agencies that support local public health work. It wants billions more slashed.