A proposed federal funding freeze causes concern for Philly health organizations
Health providers say that widespread confusion about the pause and its potential impact on patients was already making it harder for health-care workers to concentrate on their day-to-day work.
Billions in federal dollars for health initiatives and research in the Philadelphia area were under scrutiny Tuesday as the Trump administration proposed a temporary freeze on a wide swath of federal funding.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the policy from taking effect, capping a chaotic day that had local health organizations rushing to understand whether providers and researchers might lose funding from the federal government.
It was still unclear exactly which funds might be affected by the order, with some states, including Pennsylvania, reporting issues accessing computer systems that run crucial health-care programs like Medicaid, the public health insurance program for lower-income Americans and many with disabilities.
In the meantime, health providers say that widespread confusion about the pause and its potential impact on patients was already making it harder for health-care workers to concentrate on their day-to-day jobs.
”It takes attention from things like research, and it adds an added burden to a health-care provider,” said Ala Stanford, a surgeon and nationally recognized advocate for health equity. ”Everyone is going back to their grants officers and finance departments and checking their large revenue streams to see if there is any associated federal allocation with this money.”
» READ MORE: NIH funding is critical for Philadelphia-area research institutes. It’s paused under a Trump administration freeze.
Stanford founded the Black Doctors Consortium during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve Black Philadelphians’ access to testing and vaccines and served in the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services. She’s now a professor of the practice of biology at the University of Pennsylvania and heads the Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity, a primary-care clinic in Swampoodle.
Stanford also said that health workers who receive federal funds are concerned about losing grants that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, initiatives that Trump has targeted in multiple recent executive orders.
“You’re asking [yourself], has any [federally funded program] had a DEI focus? Because you know that’s something that’s being targeted,” she said.
Hospital systems and universities react to the funding pause
Drexel University said in a statement that it is “closely monitoring this dynamic situation.” A spokesperson for Cooper University Health Care said the health system was also reviewing the situation in Washington.
Over the weekend, officials at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine told staff that they should continue to prepare and submit grant proposals.
Tuesday night, Penn interim president J. Larry Jameson sent a university-wide email saying the school “doesn’t know how these developments will play out” but is closely monitoring a variety of Trump policies, including those on research funding, financial aid, visas, and DEI programs.
In the email, obtained by The Inquirer, Jameson said the university is also reviewing its own “policies, programs and practices” due to the quickly developing situation.
“Penn’s financial outlook is sound,” he wrote, and its community “should continue its essential research and other work.” He encouraged staff to reach out to their deans if a funding agency has asked them to pause research.
Another school official earlier Tuesday had separately sent an email, writing “in light of recent events regarding NIH and other health agency operations” to remind staff that lobbying and advocacy are “strictly regulated” for tax-exempt organizations like Penn, but that faculty can reach out to elected officials through their personal emails.
Rutgers University said in an email to staff and students that the Trump administration’s actions have “understandably caused many members of the Rutgers University community to ask questions and express concern.”
Rutgers faculty should notify the school about any stop-work orders or communications from federal grant sponsors, and should not stop working on any projects funded by grants, the school said. They should also continue to submit proposals for grants.
While there is much confusion over what Trump’s freeze order covers, federal student aid appears not to be affected, said officials from the American Council on Education, a national higher education advocacy group. That would include federal Pell grants targeted to lower-income students, student loans, and work-study programs.
The Trump administration stated that aid going to individuals would not be affected, but it’s unclear exactly what that means, and Pell grants, for instance, are awarded to individuals but sent directly to institutions.
But the federal Department of Education later clarified that they would be exempt, said Jon Fansmith, the council’s senior vice president for government relations and national engagement. A Q&A document from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget also said that Pell grants are exempt from the proposed freeze.
Fansmith cautioned, however, that there is not formal written guidance on that yet. What other programs will be affected and how significantly is much less clear.
”Unless something is exempted, it is in the pot to be reviewed,” said Ted Mitchell, council president. He called the Trump order “horrible, horrible public policy.”
”This impacts billions of federal dollars literally overnight,” he said. “That’s not public policymaking. That’s institutional destruction.”
Health organizations monitoring restrictions
Other health organizations who represent Philadelphia-area providers and researchers said they are monitoring the proposed funding restrictions.
The Association of American Cancer Institutes, which represents more than 100 cancer centers that conduct research and care for cancer patients, including four in Philadelphia, said that pauses on federal programs are not unprecedented during a presidential transition.
Still, the organization said, “a prolonged federal funding freeze will have devastating consequences for scientific research, stifling innovation and slowing progress against cancer.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges, a nonprofit whose member institutions include hundreds of medical schools and teaching hospitals across the country, said it was also reviewing the Trump administration’s executive orders and directives to assess their impact.
Philadelphia is a national hub for medical schools and teaching hospitals that train and employ thousands of doctors.
The AAMC said its priorities remain unchanged, including advancing medical research and “addressing long-standing health inequities.”
”These are critical priorities for the nation’s health, and federal funding has always been an integral part of advancing this work,” the organization said.
Staff writer Sue Snyder contributed to this article.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Penn’s interim president.