Sequestration spares Medicaid and almost all of Medicare, but automatic cuts to other federal health care programs will make it more difficult for low-income Americans to get maternal and infant care, vaccinate their children, and receive treatment for mental illness.

The federal government gives states tens of millions of dollars in grant money for health services each year, and all of those programs are subject to sequestration cuts.

In addition, Washington will be funneling less public health and research money to states because of automatic cuts to federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.

Overall,sequestration is designed to cut about $85 billion from federal spending in the remainder of the federal fiscal year, which ends in October. About half of that total will come from a 5 percent across-the-board cut in discretionary domestic spending, which will affectmany federal grants, safety-net programs and research initiatives. The other half will come from an 8 percent cut in defense spending.

It's still unclear how much federal health-care money each state would lose as a result of the sequester. But critics say it wont be long before people start feeling the impact.

"I dont know what the smartest approach would have been to deficit reduction," says Michael Fraser, CEO of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, "but its not this."

One agency bracing for the cuts is the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), which pays for many maternal and children's health programs. In 2011, HRSA disbursed $7 billion to the states, with a high of $827 million going to California and a low of $20 million to Vermont, according to the Trust for Americas Health, a nonpartisan group that advocates for public health improvements.

Sequestration will cut $365 million from HRSAs budget. According to Fraser, that money would have been spent on screening newborns for genetic conditions; immunizing uninsured and underinsured children; and tobacco cessation programs for pregnant women, among other things.

The HRSA cuts will also reduce the funding to 7,000 community health centers. The centers, which are located in every state and every territory, provide health care to people living in communities that are poor or geographically isolated.

States also rely heavily on Mental Health Block Grants, which the federal government distributes through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That agency is losing $168 million in the sequester. Those grants finance a variety of community-based mental health and addiction programs. According to Federal Funds Information for States (FFIS), in 2012, California received the most in federal mental health block grants at $57.4 million, while Wyoming received $491,000, less than any other state.

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Health care cuts from vaccinations to research