Just as the number of deaths due to drug overdose in the United States peaked and began a downward turn, the Trump administration is freezing spending on addiction treatment and addiction research. The immediate results are that millions of people are being cut off midway through treatment, and a great deal of research has been halted mid-study.

On Thursday, March 27, President Donald Trump and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced the government was freezing more than $11 billion in current-year funding for mental health, addiction treatment, and related programs. State and local public health departments were immediately cut off from funding that was supposed to continue through September.

In city after city, addiction treatment clinics are simply closing down. In Eugene, Oregon, a walk-in addiction treatment clinic has lost 75% of its budget. In Wisconsin, the state was informed they would not be receiving $212 million in 2025 HHS grants, resulting in the following cutbacks to addiction treatment services:

The governor’s office identified a dozen service areas it expects the cuts to impact, including suicide and mental health crisis lines; substance abuse prevention and treatment, and programs dispersing fentanyl test strips; respite and recovery centers; and local public health department funding and laboratories.

NPR reports that New York State had $300 million yanked away, most of it earmarked for county health departments. Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration is losing $250 million in funding endangering 60 different ongoing programs.

Many of the changes are resulting from the virtual elimination of SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which we have relied upon here at AddictionNews for data about the size of the addiction problem in the U.S. and the status of addiction treatment research and best practices.

SAMHSA cannot be simply closed because it was created by an act of Congress in 1992. Therefore, it is being absorbed into the new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). Among the programs funded by SAMHSA which will be curtailed or eliminated are staffing for the national 988 crisis hotline, distribution of naloxone, and funding for addiction treatment services in all 50 states.

Secretary Kennedy plans to cut payroll at HHS by 25%, with 10,000 voluntary departures and 10,000 more in staff reductions. On top of more than $11 billion in current spending frozen, Secretary Kennedy plans to eliminate 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare, and Medicaid. The AP reports that the, “cuts focus on workers who troubleshoot problems that arise for Medicare beneficiaries and Affordable Care Act enrollees.”

NPR also reports the cuts will include elimination of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, “a federal agency whose sole mission is to end homelessness in the U.S.” If you’re thinking charities, churches, and nonprofits can pick up the slack in funding, that is unlikely. Their funding for programs that provide mental health services, addiction treatment services, and homelessness services has also been slashed.

While the impact on addiction research and addiction treatment is already severe, programs that serve the poor are waiting for the other shoe to drop: The Trump Administration is expected to balance the budget by cutting Medicaid. Limiting reimbursement for addiction services would squeeze programs from the top and the bottom at the same time, resulting in the widespread curtailing of mental health and addiction treatment services across the U.S.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published April 7, 2025.

Sources:

“Trump team revokes $11 billion in funding for addiction, mental health care,” NPR, March 27, 2025.

“The fate of addiction treatment hangs in the balance with Kennedy’s HHS overhaul,” AP, March 28, 2025.

“Changes to Opioid Addiction Treatment in Federal Prisons Threaten Peoples’ Lives,” TruthOut, March 26, 2025.

“Federal agencies plan for mass layoffs as Trump’s workforce cuts continue,” NPR, March 15, 2025

“Federal Cuts Hit Wisconsin Addiction Treatment, Public Health,” Urban Milwaukee, March 28, 2025.

Image courtesy of Matty1378, used under Creative Commons license.