Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Opens Up Early Retirement For Employees Amid Agency Downsizing
Reuters: Exclusive: US Health Agency Says Employees Can Apply For Early Retirement
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told employees on Monday they could apply for early retirement over the next 10 days and should respond to a request for information on their accomplishments of the past week, according to emails seen by Reuters. The HHS told employees in an email that it received authorization on Monday from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to offer early retirement under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, which impacts agencies "that are undergoing substantial restructuring, reshaping, downsizing, transfer of function or reorganization." (Wingrove and Levine, 3/3)
More on Trump's staffing and funding cuts —
Politico: Trump’s NIH Plan B
A federal court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s proposed across-the-board cut to the National Institutes of Health funding for universities’ “indirect costs,” such as facilities and administration. But even if the courts reject the plan, Trump could turn to Plan B — renegotiating the payments one university at a time, Erin reports. At stake is $4 billion, a shortfall the universities say would devastate the nation’s scientific enterprise. (Hooper and Cirruzzo, 3/3)
Stat: NIH Terminates Ongoing Grants For LGBTQ+ Research
The funding was supposed to last for at least several more months, said Jace Flatt, an associate professor of health and behavioral sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. But on Friday, he and several other scientists studying LGBTQ+ health received a letter from the National Institutes of Health informing them that some existing, ongoing grants from the federal government were terminated, effective immediately. (Chen, 3/3)
The Washington Post: Universities Scramble To Respond To Federal Funding Cuts
Some universities are freezing hiring, admitting fewer graduate students and warning that recent federal changes and proposals pose an existential threat to higher education. A U.S. judge last month put a temporary block on Trump administration orders for deep cuts to federal funding rates that the National Institutes of Health provides to support overhead costs for research at academic institutions. (Svrluga, 3/3)
The Hill: House Republican Says He ‘Can’t Guarantee’ Staff Cuts Won’t Impact Veterans
Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) on Monday defended the budgets and workforce cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, as he said he “can’t guarantee” veterans’ benefits and care would be immune from cuts. In an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Murphy said the cuts are essential to reining in government spending and restructuring to ensure the agencies work efficiently for the American people. (Fortinsky, 3/3)
The Hill: Martin O'Malley: DOGE Cuts Could Soon Trigger Social Security System 'Collapse'
Martin O’Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), said Monday the recent cuts made by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the agency could result in the “collapse” of the Social Security system “within the next 30 to 90 days.” (Zehra, 3/3)
