Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Withholds Millions In Medical Research Funding From UCLA
Los Angeles Times: Trump Freezes $200 Million In UCLA Science, Medical Research Funding, Citing Antisemitism Allegations
The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of science, medical and other federal grants to UCLA worth nearly $200 million, citing the university’s alleged “discrimination” in admissions and failure to “promote a research environment free of antisemitism.” The decision to pull funding comes after Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi and the Justice Department said this week that UCLA would pay a “heavy price” for acting with “deliberate indifference” to the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students who complained of antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza and campus protests the events spurred last year. (Kaleem, 7/31)
Stat: Jay Bhattacharya Moves From Disparity Researcher To DEI Enforcer
The April announcement of National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya’s appointment and his public profile at Stanford University, where he was a professor of health policy, both state that his work has focused on vulnerable populations, and he’s published at least five papers on racial health disparities. In June, he specifically lauded sickle cell research as an NIH success, highlighting it as the kind of work “that advances the health and well-being of minority populations,” and that the NIH should continue supporting. “It absolutely must,” he told podcaster Andrew Huberman. (Oza, McFarling and Boodman, 8/1)
More on the federal funding cuts —
Stat: Senate Committee Rejects NIH Cuts, Boosts Budget By $400 Million
Senators from both parties endorsed a $400 million increase to the budget of the National Institutes of Health on Thursday, in an Appropriations Committee vote that represents a clear rebuke of President Trump’s plan to dramatically reduce the agency’s spending. (Wosen and Russo, 7/31)
NPR: Congress Says Yes To $7.9 Billion In Foreign Aid Cuts. What Programs Lose Out?
It's been over a week since Congress granted the White House its wish to claw back $7.9 billion that Congress previously allocated for spending on disease and famine control, disaster relief and promoting democracy. But the details on what the package will actually cut are so unclear that many in the nonprofit aid sector are scratching their heads trying to understand what the impact will be. I (Tanis, 7/31)
KFF Health News: Deep Staff Cuts At A Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble For Droves Of Local Health Programs
A little-known federal agency that sends more than $12 billion annually to support community health centers, addiction treatment services, and workforce initiatives for America’s neediest people has been hobbled by the Trump administration’s staffing purges. The cuts are “just a little astonishing,” said Carole Johnson, who previously led the Health Resources and Services Administration. She left the agency in January with the administration change and has described the sweeping staff cuts as a “big threat” to the agency’s ability to distribute billions of dollars in grants to hospitals, clinics, nonprofits, and other organizations nationwide. (Tribble and Larweh, 8/1)
The War Horse: List Of Positions At VA That Took Deferred Resignations
It’s been six months since a now-infamous email presented millions of federal workers with a pivotal decision: They could reply “resign” to give up their job and receive full pay and benefits through the end of September. Or they could stay in their positions and hope they didn’t get laid off in the ensuing chaotic months of the second Trump administration. Perhaps no agency was impacted more than the Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs by far the largest federal payroll outside of the military, with more than 467,000 employees providing health care and benefits to 9.1 million veterans. (Rosenbaum, 7/31)
In related news —
Axios: OB-GYN Group Won't Take Federal Funds Over Trump Policies
The leading professional association for gynecologists is cutting financial ties with the federal government, citing Trump administration policies it says prevent it from providing evidence-based guidance. (Goldman, 8/1)
