In Blow To Medical Research, Supreme Court Says Trump Can Halt NIH Grants
The 5-4 ruling lifts a lower court ruling that forced the National Institutes of Health to restore funding for more than 1,700 health research grants. In a searing rebuttal, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accused her colleagues of making it so that "this administration always wins," Politico wrote.
Politico:
Supreme Court Lets Trump Admin Cut Off Health Grants It Says Advance DEI Or ‘Gender Ideology Extremism’
The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to cut off health research grants it contends advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts or promote “gender ideology extremism.” By a 5-4 vote, the justices lifted an order a federal court judge in Boston issued forcing the National Institutes of Health to restore funding for more than 1,700 grants focused on heart disease, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, alcohol and substance abuse and mental health issues. (Gerstein, 8/21)
On the global fight against HIV and AIDS —
The New York Times:
Trump Budget Office Is Withholding H.I.V. Funds That Congress Appropriated
The Trump administration is ignoring a directive from Congress and refusing to fully fund a landmark H.I.V. program that is widely credited with saving millions of lives over the past two decades. The Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russell T. Vought, has apportioned only $2.9 billion of $6 billion appropriated by Congress for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in the 2025 fiscal year spending bill, according to budget documents and members of the program’s staff. (Nolen, 8/21)
The Guardian:
Botswana Was Once ‘At Risk Of Extinction’ From HIV. Now It Is A World Leader In Eliminating The Virus In Children
The pioneering African country is lauded for slashing rates of mother-to-child transmission to just 1.2% and is holding trials that may now hold the key to curing young people. (Cox, 8/22)
On changes to Medicaid and Medicare —
Fierce Healthcare:
HHS To Form Outside Committee On Reshaping Medicare, Medicaid
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will seek external experts for a new committee tasked with providing strategic guidance on the care provided by government insurance programs. The HHS announced Thursday that the Healthcare Advisory Committee will offer recommendations to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D., seeking to "improve how care is financed and delivered" across Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act's exchanges. (Minemyer, 8/21)
KFF Health News:
Native Americans Want To Avoid Past Medicaid Enrollment Snafus As Work Requirements Loom
Jonnell Wieder earned too much money at her job to keep her Medicaid coverage when the covid-19 public health emergency ended in 2023 and states resumed checking whether people were eligible for the program. But she was reassured by the knowledge that Medicaid would provide postpartum coverage for her and her daughter, Oakleigh McDonald, who was born in July of that year. Wieder is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana and can access some health services free of charge through her tribe’s health clinics. But funding is limited, so, like a lot of Native American people, she relied on Medicaid for herself and Oakleigh. (Orozco Rodriguez, 8/22)
KFF Health News:
KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': Happy 60th, Medicare And Medicaid!
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed landmark legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid. Sixty years later, the programs represent a fifth of the federal budget and provide coverage to nearly 1 in 4 Americans. In addition, the way Medicare and Medicaid structure and pay for medical care has set the standard for the private sector as well. On this week’s special episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast, host Julie Rovner interviews two experts on the history, development, impact, and future of Medicare and Medicaid. (8/21)
