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Bell County Public Health warns of major funding cuts and announces first confirmed measles case
Summary
Bell County Public Health director Amy Yeager told the council on June 3 that federal and state funding reductions will force program changes, and she announced the county's first confirmed measles case of the year. Yeager said the district is revising clinic locations and seeking to renegotiate how municipalities share base public-health costs.
KILLEEN, Texas — Bell County Public Health told the Killeen City Council on June 3 that deep federal and state funding cuts have forced program reductions and raised the risk that critical services will shrink, and the agency announced an immediate public-health concern: the county’s first confirmed measles case in 2025.
Amy Yeager, district director, said the health district serves roughly 400,000 people in Bell County and provides a range of services including WIC, environmental health inspections, vector surveillance and clinical care. Yeager said large federal and state funding cuts have already forced the agency to restructure services and that more changes are likely for fiscal 2026.
“We got our first confirmed case of measles today, and it was an adult unvaccinated male,” Yeager told the council, and said epidemiologists were investigating possible exposures and advising residents to call ahead before seeking in-person care.
Yeager said recent funding losses include roughly $1.7 million in state reductions already known for FY26 and an earlier one-day federal funding reduction that removed about $1.4 million from the district’s budget. She said the district will not be able to continue the full scope of women’s health services after the cuts: a family-planning grant valued at about $851,000 was eliminated for the coming year, and a title-X-related cut passed through at a rate the district said would reduce monthly resources by more than half.
Because of the funding change, the district has temporarily consolidated clinic services: immunizations and related clinical work are being operated from the Killeen location while the agency evaluates further steps. Yeager said the district will also expand vector surveillance and is preparing to monitor dengue as well as the more typical West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis mosquitoes.
Yeager urged city leaders to work with the district to revise a cooperative funding agreement municipalities signed in 1994; she said that document does not align with current state statute and leaves the county health district underfunded. Under the current cooperative agreement the City of Killeen’s FY26 contribution is $341,607.88, Yeager said, and she asked council members to engage on a rewrite that would conform to the state law and modern needs.
Council members asked how community partners could help with service continuity and whether retired medical staff could be recruited for short-term volunteer support. Yeager said the district is exploring options such as a medical reserve corps, mobile clinic units and targeted outreach where access barriers are greatest.
No council action was taken; Yeager asked only that the city’s budget process and municipal representatives work with the district to update the cooperative agreement and review FY26 support levels. She warned that further federal or state cuts could force layoffs or program closures if alternate funding is not secured.
