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NEW BEDFORD — As part of its effort to clamp down on diversity, equity and inclusion, the Trump administration last week ordered federally funded health providers, including the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center, to cease certain programming relating to DEI, gender identity and transgender people in order to comply with executive orders.
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) notice was paused just days later on Monday due to a court-issued restraining order, but the federal actions have introduced uncertainty to the New Bedford community, and may threaten future health services for residents, many of whom are lower income, uninsured, or immigrants.
“It’s a lot to absorb and follow,” said GNBCHC CEO Cheryl Bartlett, shortly after she got off a call with other nonprofit leaders to make sense of the confusing, fast-hitting federal actions.
The health center, which treats about 22,000 people annually, was one of the recipients of the notice from HRSA. It receives more than $700,000 per month from the federal government, most of which supports payroll, said Bartlett. It’s also one of the HRSA’s dozens of “Federally Qualified Health Centers” in Massachusetts.
This designation means a center serves an underserved area or population, provides comprehensive services, offers a sliding scale for patients to pay, and qualifies for benefits, including enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.
Dozens of health agencies in New England received such notices from HRSA ordering them to comply with the executive actions, the Boston Globe reported. In plain language, the orders regard gender-affirming care for transgender people aged 19 and younger, gender identity, and the establishment of only two sexes, among other subjects.
HRSA in an initial communication on Jan. 31 to recipients said “grant funds may not be used for activities that do not align with Executive Orders,” including DEI, “protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation,” “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” according to a copy obtained by The Light.
“Any vestige, remnant, or re-named piece of any programs in conflict with these E.O.s are terminated in whole or in part,” the HRSA message ends.
Bartlett said the health center has about 700 policies (a mix of administrative and clinical) and of those, her staff have identified a dozen that “could potentially be of concern,” as they contain some of the terms being targeted by the Trump administration. However, she believes the policies’ aims and purposes aren’t in conflict with the executive orders.
“We kind of did word searches on our policies … we’re hearing diversity, equity, environmental justice, gender-affirming, culturally appropriate, culturally rooted,” she said. “We were looking for all those words.”
GNBCHC has a DEI committee, whose mission is to educate staff and celebrate the cultural communities of the staff and people they serve. This includes eating different cuisines and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.
DEI programs generally aim to create equitable work environments for people who have been historically underrepresented or have faced discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
“I feel like what we do is more about celebrating and learning about different traditions and cultures,” Bartlett said. “It might get more specific at some point where it says maybe we can’t even do that, I don’t know.”
Just two days into his second term, President Donald Trump directed all federal DEI staff be placed on leave. His administration continues to target culture and gender in the science and research communities, as well as the military.
This week, the West Point military academy was ordered to disband several clubs, including those regarding Korean, Japanese, Latin, Black and Hispanic culture. The Society of Women Engineers was also ordered to disband.
The health center also provides gender-affirming care to a small number of adult patients, Bartlett said, whether it be counseling about options, prescribing hormone treatments, or referring to specialists. Trump’s executive order regards gender-affirming care for children, which it defines as 19 years old or younger.
It’s not one of the center’s primary services for adults, but “we’re going to continue to provide that,” Bartlett said.
Fifteen attorneys general, including Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell, issued a joint statement Wednesday promising to protect gender-affirming care.
“Health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors, not by a politician trying to use his power to restrict your freedoms,” it reads. “The Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order is wrong on the science and the law … there is no connection between ‘female genital mutilation’ and gender-affirming care, and no federal law makes gender-affirming care unlawful.”
They addressed the temporary restraining order, explaining it means federal funding to organizations that provide gender-affirming care continues to be available, and that they will take further legal action if the Trump administration tries to impede the funding.
A point that remains unclear to health care providers is whether receiving federal funding totally bars them from providing services the federal government does not support under the new executive orders — or if they can continue to provide those services as long as they use non-federal monies.
An HRSA spokesperson did not address that question, but told The Light on Thursday said it had rescinded its initial message to the health centers in order to comply with the court’s temporary restraining order.
“Based on this court order, all contracts and grant work can continue to be performed, and contractors and grantees can get paid in accordance with the terms and conditions of their contracts and other assistance mechanisms,” the spokesperson said in an email. “As HRSA gets updated guidance, we will keep our recipients informed.”
During the first Trump administration, health centers in Massachusetts returned federal funding through a different program, Title X, because it was contingent on the centers not making abortion referrals. The state appropriated the money instead.
The federal judge’s restraining order on the funding freeze remains in place. It says the administration’s refusal to disburse funds — which are appropriated by Congress — was “arbitrary and capricious.”
Bartlett said she is more concerned about funding than the executive orders (though the two are interconnected). If the freeze in funding does take effect, GNBCHC has some reserves that could help them weather a pause for at least a few months.
Depending on the financial strain created by federal actions, the center may have to pause expansion and renovation projects planned to improve access to behavioral health and primary care services.
“I’m trying to keep my staff educated so we all stay positive. Obviously our patients have concerns because they read all the things that are going on and listen to the news,” said Bartlett, who has attended several meetings over the last few days to make sense of what these executive actions could mean.
“We are preparing to pivot to be in compliance as we have no intentions of not complying and risk losing funding,” she said.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
Thanks for tackling this subject, it was a great read.
Thank you!
Thanks for this report. Well done as usual!
These words from the Trump Administration (can you say Stephen Miller) are frightening : ‘“grant funds may not be used for activities that do not align with Executive Orders,” including DEI, “protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation,” “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government,”’
If you voted for Trump, or didn’t vote for Harris in order to prevent, shame on you for causing this and much more to come.