Some providers in Colorado concerned about cuts in public health funding

The Trump Administration is moving to withhold $600 million in public health funding across four Democrat-led states. House Speaker Emerita Pelosi says that Colorado, California, Illinois, and Minnesota lost the funding from the Centers for Disease Control, and she pledged to work to reverse the cuts.

In Colorado, it's not yet clear exactly how much funding will be cut, but organizations like the Colorado Health Network are bracing for impact.

That's when Darrell Vigil learned the Trump Administration was cutting nearly $371,000 from his nonprofit Colorado Health Network. CHN is the state's longest-running and biggest source of healthcare for people affected by HPV.

"My fear is that without access to testing, treatment, care, Prep, we're just going to see HIV rates go back up," Vigil said, "HIV is not curable, and if it's not treated, people will, will eventually die."

The CDC says the cuts are "inconsistent with agency priorities." The drop in health funding will total 600 million dollars across four blue states.

"We should be caring for folks, treating folks, regardless of who they are or whether they're in a blue state or a red state," Vigil said.

And for Vigil, it's personal, losing his friend Scott to the disease in the 90s.

"I held someone in my arms and watched their last tear roll down their cheek and take their last breath, and it just impacted me, and I said I would always do what I could for the rest of my life to support people battling HIV and AIDS," Vigil said.

Although he doesn't know exactly when funding will be cut, Darrell says Colorado Health Network is already trying to find new funding for the hundreds of people who need this care every year.

"We will definitely have to cut back on the services that we provide, unless we're able to find some other funding," Vigil said, "This is important work to me. This is important work for our team, and we're not just going to stop providing services tomorrow."

Colorado Health Network says these cuts will especially impact people of color and those in the LGBTQ community who are disproportionately affected by HIV. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment could not confirm if it would see cuts at this time.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the rescinding of congressionally appropriated funds "Reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous..."

An HHS spokesperson told CBS Colorado that these grants are being terminated because they do not reflect agency priorities.