Arizona's Health Department Issues Stop Work Orders for HIV Testing Across the State

June 11 2:11 p.m.; This story has been updated with a comment from Valleywise Medical and a response from Gov. Katie Hobbs' team's outreach with community groups.

Arizona is being forced to gut some HIV prevention programs as a result of federal spending freezes, with fallout hitting LGBTQ+ community organizations hardest.

At the beginning of June, the state’s Department of Health Services quietly issued Stop Work Orders to at least a dozen grassroots HIV prevention groups—many of them focused on queer and trans communities of color. The shutdown came with little warning, as only two weeks before those organizations had been told via email that there were concerns that possible funding amounting to millions of dollars might not come their way as scheduled. 

In mid-May, health groups that received CDC funding for HIV behavioral intervention services such as treatment for PrEP—the medical intervention to prevent HIV by more than 99%—HIV testing, and viral surveillance in communities were told by the state health department that they had not received their notice of award for the upcoming payout on May 30. 

It followed a move by Trump-appointed CDC leadership to freeze a key grant program that funneled money into testing, surveillance, and access to HIV prevention medication across the country.

The result? Critical services disappeared overnight, just as Pride Month began.

“This week was supposed to be a celebration,” Ripple PHX, one of Arizona’s most visible queer health orgs, wrote in a public statement on Instagram. “Instead, we’re bracing for impact—and fighting for survival.”

Ripple PHX, which celebrated its seventh anniversary this month, lost $150,000 in funding in a matter of hours. Another $55,000 was slashed from their regrant allocation through Valleywise Health, Arizona’s largest nonprofit hospital system, which has been scrambling to make up for the lost federal money, according to an email shared with LOOKOUT. 

In a statement to LOOKOUT, Valleywise Health's Communications Director Michael Murphy did not acknowledge the cuts in funding made to other groups, and instead said the organization was continuing "to navigate through uncertainty in funding."

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The Southern Arizona medical provider that once touted its relationship with the queer community has appeared to have lost its credibility with their decision to pre-comply to Trump’s executive orders.

LOOKOUTJoseph Darius Jaafari (he/him)

“These cuts are NOT because of poor performance,” Ripple wrote. “They come from a CDC grant made to serve Trans folks, People of Color & LGBTQ+ people. And now it’s frozen. In the same week Pride Month began. In the same week they tried to erase Harvey Milk from a Navy ship.”

Ripple PHX now faces the most “terrifying moment” in its history. They’re not alone. Similar stories are unfolding across Arizona, where the CDC’s funding freeze has gutted testing efforts in gay bars, bathhouses, and other places where HIV prevention efforts actually reach the people who need them.

For groups without the financial cushion of a large hospital network or who aren’t mor reliant on CDC funds, the cuts are existential. El Rio Health in Tucson, for example, does not receive CDC funds for their HIV testing, according to spokesperson Nathan Holaway, and the stop work orders didn’t affect their day-to-day operations. 

Aunt Rita’s, one of the state’s longest running HIV care groups, also hasn’t been reliant on CDC funds to provide services. 

But for other organizations, such as Prisma Community Care, the funding is critical for saving lives. 

“What we’re running into right now is HIV is on the rise in a lot of cities and in Maricopa County, and so when you cut funding for vaccines, when you cut funding for research, it puts a halt on everything that’s happening,” said Jessyca Leach, CEO of Prisma Community Care. “You have to go back and recreate.” 

The Tucson Sentinel first reported that Southern Arizona Aids Foundation announced that it has lost more than $2 million in funding, resulting in immediate cuts. More than $600,000 of that money is from CDC funds passed through by the state health department. Fourteen people were let go because of the funding cuts.

“These funding cuts are a devastating blow to SAAF and, more importantly, to the thousands of individuals who rely on our services,” said Beth Morrison, Interim CEO of SAAF. “We are facing an unprecedented challenge, and our primary concern is the health and well-being of our clients. While we are working tirelessly to mitigate the impact, the reality is that many essential services will be significantly scaled back.”

And the silence from state leadership is just as dangerous as the cuts themselves. So far, only Rep. Yassamin Ansari has responded to the crisis, according to the statement from Ripple PHX. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs—whose office oversees the state’s health department and is currently in the throes of annual budget negotiations — has not replied to the community group. 

After publishing this story, Hobbs' office has reached out to Ripple PHX in an attempt to set up a meeting but said the governor "does not control" federal budgets.

The trigger for all this was a bomb dropped by the Trump administration in March: a so-called “skinny budget” for 2026 that proposed a 23% cut to non-defense discretionary spending, including $33 billion from Health and Human Services. It effectively eliminates the CDC’s domestic HIV prevention programs—everything from public education to PrEP access—in one fell swoop.

That includes the very grant program that funded Ripple PHX and other Arizona-based orgs. It also threatens the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which supports care for low-income people living with HIV. While technically still funded, advocates say that without the prevention pipeline, the program becomes a stopgap—not a solution.

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LOOKOUTJoseph Darius Jaafari (he/him)

“Out of 10 branches of the CDC’s HIV prevention division, five were cut,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute  in a press release. “Now they don’t have the staff to support grants, so they’re cancelling them and letting state and local governments take over.”

Arizona appears to be doing exactly that—dumping the responsibility on local orgs, then stripping them of resources. The results, health advocates say, are clear: less people getting tested, fewer getting on PrEP, and fewer being connected to life-saving care.

The federal budget does maintain $220 million for the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. But that money is being shifted to a new agency, the Administration for a Healthy America—and it only covers 57 jurisdictions nationwide. It’s unclear if Arizona’s fast-growing queer community has a seat at that table.

“Maintaining EHE while eliminating nearly $800 million for our nationwide surveillance, testing, education and outreach programs is a recipe for disaster,” Schmid said in the release. “We cannot ignore people who are at risk of HIV.”

Meanwhile, back in Phoenix, the people who’ve been on the frontlines of prevention are being pushed out of the fight.

“We’re not panicking,” Ripple wrote. “But we’re hurting. We’re not backing down. But we’re angry. And this is a crisis.”

But most alarming for health advocates isn’t just that Arizona is losing HIV prevention dollars—it’s happening at a time when the state is seeing a rise in transmission rates. A report released in December 2023—the most recent report available—by the Arizona Department of Health Services revealed HIV transmissions in the state surged more than 20% since 2020 despite national HIV rates going down. 

The hardest hit? Black and Latino Arizonans, especially men who have sex with men. But straight women, including those from communities that have long been treated as low-risk, have also seen an increased risk. In 2021, the state’s Black population had a 31% spike in HIV cases. The next year, it jumped another 15%. And while Latinos make up 32% of the state’s population, they accounted for nearly half of new infections in 2023.

Phoenix is one of 33 U.S. cities designated as a Fast Track City under a UN-led effort to eliminate HIV by 2030. In theory, that means it’s supposed to be a leader in prevention. 

But when asked if there was a stop gap opportunity to shore up funds to make up for the loss, the city didn’t appear to have a plan or path forward to hit their 2030 goal if testing and prevention were reduced in the city. 

Poor sex education and outreach is to blame for HIV increase in Arizona, advocates say.

State health department data shows HIV transmissions up by almost 20%, going the opposite way of the nation where the virus is slowing.

LOOKOUTLisa Abelar (she/her)

Instead, a spokesperson for the city mentioned funds already allocated two years ago—a total of $250,000 annually—to provide for HIV and AIDS awareness, testing, education, and support services for individuals living with the virus.

“The goal of these community outreach sponsorships is to support HIV testing, link those living with HIV to treatment, and support efforts in continual care for those living with HIV, as well as those who fall out of care,” said Angie Holdsworth, a public information officer for the city’s strategic initiatives. 

The funding could be reinstated to local groups if the CDC follows through and issues the award. But it's unclear if that will happen. LOOKOUT contacted both the grant manager for the state department's HIV programs as well as the public information officer for the department to inquire on if ADHS has had any contact with the CDC on releasing the funds. The agency did not return requests for interviews.