Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump's 'Skinny Budget' Puts Health Care On A Drastic Diet
Los Angeles Times: Cancer Research, Public Health And Worker Safety Would All See Steep Cuts Under Trump Budget
Under the heading “Putting America’s Health First,” the Trump administration’s 2018 budget blueprint includes a $5.8-billion cut for the National Institutes of Health, a move that would slash the medical research agency’s funding by just over 18%. It would reduce public health spending by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by $1.32 billion, a 17% decline from 2017 spending levels. And it would cut the Food and Drug Administration’s spending by $854 million, a 31% decrease cut from current funding levels. (Healy, 5/23)
NPR: Trump Administration Seeks Deep Cuts In Health Care, Medical Research
The NIH, which funds research into medical treatments and basic science, would see cuts of almost $6 billion, to about $26 billion. That would include a $575 million cut to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and $838 million cut to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is involved in a wide range of diseases including AIDS and Zika. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases would be cut by $355 million. (Kodjak and Stein, 5/23)
The Washington Post: Trump’s Budget Proposal Aims To Cut All Federal Funds From Planned Parenthood
President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal would bar Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving federal funds that help pay for health-care services for millions of Americans. The budget, the “New Foundation for American Greatness,” was released Tuesday, proposing to cut trillions of dollars in spending during the next decade. The budget is part of the Trump administration’s effort to follow through on a campaign promise to exclude “certain entities that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood” from participating in any Department of Health and Human Services programs, according to a fact sheet from the White House. (Bever, 5/23)
The New York Times: Cuts To AIDS Treatment Programs Could Cost A Million Lives
At least one million people will die in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, researchers and advocates said on Tuesday, if funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration to global public health programs are enacted. The United States currently spends more than $6 billion annually on programs that buy antiretroviral drugs for about 11.5 million people worldwide who are infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The Trump administration has proposed slashing those programs by at least $1.1 billion — nearly a fifth of their current funding, said Jen Kates, a vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Harris, 5/23)
Stat: Trump Plan To Have Industry Pay For All Product Reviews Will Likely Go Nowhere
True to its word, the Trump administration released its 2018 budget that includes a notable change for drug and device makers — they would face a stiff increase in so-called user fees that industry pays for to fund product reviews conducted by the Food and Drug Administration. And the higher fees, which are slated to nearly double to $2.4 billion, would be used to cover the entire cost of those reviews...The notion was widely anticipated after a May 15 letter, which written by US Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, leaked out. (Silverman, 5/23)
Stat: The Trump Budget: 8 Ways It Might Affect Public Health
The budget outline released by the White House Tuesday contains sharp cuts to everything — from a $76 million reduction in global health funding that includes HIV programming to grass-roots community health grants. And while it’s not clear what cuts will survive the congressional budget process, the proposal reveals a White House that, for the most part, wants a leaner public health system, and less American money used overseas. (Facher, 5/24)
Los Angeles Times: Scientific Research Would Take A Big Hit Under Trump's Budget — And That's Bad For The Economy, Experts Say
How does science fare under President Trump’s proposed budget? Not too well. The American Assn. for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) estimated that the budget released Tuesday morning represented a 16.8% decrease in overall funding for scientific research compared with the current budget. (Netburn, 5/23)
Denver Post: Trump Budget Stirs Unease In Boulder Science Community
The release of President Donald Trump’s $4.1 trillion spending plan for the fiscal year starting in October sparked concern on Tuesday in Boulder’s scientific community for its potential impact on the work that many see as critical to public safety in the face of a changing global climate. At the national level, much of the early focus has been on the budget’s slashing to Medicaid and anti-poverty efforts. But its cuts to scientific research are also being viewed warily at the local level. (Brennan, 5/23)
CQ Roll Call: Budget Proposal Aims Cuts At Heart Of Zika Response
The leaders of agencies responding to the spread of Zika virus told lawmakers Tuesday that theyneed consistent support to combat the disease, an appeal that came on the day the White House released its budget proposal that would strip billions of dollars from those same agencies and from public health systems strained by the effects of Zika. The Trump administration wants to cut $7 billion from the $34-billion National Institutes of Health in fiscal 2018, an amount that includes a $1.1 billion cut to the $4.9 billion National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is developing a promising vaccine to prevent the Zika virus. (Siddons, 5/23)
The Associated Press: Agency-By-Agency Look At Trump's Budget
The budget initiates deep cuts to health insurance programs for people with modest incomes, including coverage for children. Those cuts would go beyond the House GOP bill that repeals much of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," and limits future federal financing for Medicaid. (5/24)
