Some Public Healthcare Services Just Got More Expensive In RivCo (2025)

The county and state are also eyeing cuts to public health by the Trump administration.

Posted Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 2:13 pm PT

On Tuesday, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a slate of increases. The hikes come as state officials across the country are watching the administration of President Donald Trump slash about $11 billion in federal public health funding — with California standing to lose nearly $1 billion.

The county's updated public health fees approved Tuesday "are necessary to meet the on-going operational and maintenance costs of providing public health program services to Riverside County residents," according to county documents.

What will go up? In a few instances, fees have been put forward where none existed previously. For the public health department's "mobile team vaccines" service, the cost of administering a Gardisil human papillomavirus 9 variant inoculation will go from $0 to $330. Similarly, to receive the Boostrix TDAP vaccine via a mobile clinic will cost $50, where there was no charge before.

Any mobile vaccination clinic service will additionally include administration fees — ranging from $2 to $90, depending on economic hardship — which haven't been charged in the past.

A number of laboratory processing fees will also be increased. A tuberculosis culture analysis will go from $20 to $50, while a basic "culture for identification" will jump from $17 to $50.

An HIV antibody screening will go from $28 to $36.12, and the cost of an HIV-1 and HIV-2 genus confirmation will be raised from $46 to $58.06.

The new up-front cost for procuring any medical documents loaded onto a CD, such as images of X-rays and CT scans, will be $25. In the past, this was a complimentary service provided by the department.

Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari said the county's Auditor-Controller's Office had scrutinized the increases and determined the new rates were "equitable and reasonable to recover the cost of providing services."

Health insurance providers, including government-subsidized Medi-Cal, might pick up many of the new expenses, though co-pay costs are unknown.

Another unknown is Medi-Cal itself. The state program is funded in large part by the federal Medicaid program, and Washington, D.C., lawmakers are eyeing possible cuts to it. Approximately 1 million Riverside County residents — nearly half of the county's population — receive Medi-Cal benefits.

Tuesday's board of supervisors' vote was 3-0, with Supervisors Yxstian Gutierrez and Chuck Washington absent. The fee increases take effect on May 1.

As Riverside County Public Health makes near-term adjustments, more budget impacts could be coming. On March 24, the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and H.H.S. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., issued termination notices to state and local public health agencies across the country to end about $11 billion in federal funding for grants that provide support for a wide range of public health needs, including identifying, tracking, and addressing infectious diseases; ensuring access to immunizations; and modernizing public health infrastructure.

The discontinued grants were from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is under the H.H.S. umbrella.

"No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds," the H.H.S. notices said, according to reporting from the New York Times.

In addition to the $11 billion in federal cuts, about $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was also halted by the Trump administration.

The move has prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of nearly two dozen states to file a lawsuit that was announced Tuesday.

The coalition argues that it is unconstitutional for the Trump administration to halt funding that Congress has authorized.

"Over and over, I’ve made clear that my office will only take legal action against the Trump Administration when it breaks the law. Unfortunately, but predictably, that has happened once again," Bonta said. "Congress explicitly authorized funding for the grants at issue to help keep our country healthy and protect us from future pandemics. HHS and its Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cannot unilaterally do away with that critical federal funding. My fellow attorneys general and I are committed to defending the rule of law. We know how high the stakes are in our respective states — thousands of jobs and key public health programs and initiatives could be eliminated."