On April 15, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to implement policies to lower drug prices, improve pharmacy benefit manager transparency, and build on provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. The executive order contains various policy ideas related to proposals to further lower the cost of insulin and injectable epinephrine for low-income and uninsured Americans, including importing more low-cost drugs from other countries and streamlining the federal approval process for generic and biosimilar versions of branded medications. It is unclear what type of impact this order will have on prices for prescription drug costs. It may also be difficult to implement these proposed policy changes given the recent reduction-in-force (RIF) that has occurred at HHS. The Society will continue to monitor this closely to assess the impact it will have on our members.
The Society has been a leader in advocating for access to affordable prescription drugs, including insulin. The rising out-of-pocket cost of insulin continues to be a major concern for our members. Our members frequently learn that because of the high cost of insulin their patients are forced to forgo or ration their prescribed insulin. In 2021, we published a position statement on insulin access and affordability which included recommendations to lower the price and out-of-pocket cost of insulin. We were also a leader in advocating for a $35 co-pay cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries and the creation of the Medicare Price Negotiation Program in the Inflation Reduction Act. The Society continues to advocate for expanding the insulin co-pay cap to the private insurance market. In the 118th Congress, we endorsed the Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act, a bipartisan insulin affordability bill introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME). This legislation would cap out-of-pocket insulin costs for those with private insurance, ensure patients can share in insulin rebates and discounts, and promote competition in the insulin market. This bill has not yet been reintroduced in the 119th Congress. The Society will continue to urge Congressional leaders on both sides to lower the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs.
Last week, a leaked version of the President’s budget provided insight into the administration’s efforts to slash federal funding for medical research and public health efforts in the Department of Human Health and Services. Though preliminary, the document proposes to cut National Institute of Health (NIH) funding by 40%, cap indirect costs at 15%, and eliminate several NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) while consolidating others. No details were shared about the mission or goals of the new ICs; however, the proposed restructuring coupled with indiscriminate cuts threatens all areas of endocrine research.
Funding uncertainty also remains for researchers currently supported by NIH. The administration is targeting select universities, including Columbia University and Harvard University, by freezing grant funding and causing irreparable harm to established research projects. NIH also modified their “Civil Rights Terms and Conditions” to prohibit institutions funded by NIH from engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts. While study sections and some advisory committee meetings have resumed, not all advisory committee meetings have been scheduled, further delaying the distribution of grant funding to researchers.
The Society is deeply concerned about the impact that these actions have on our members and is taking action to protect endocrine-related research. We have submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, urging Congress to provide increased funding to the NIH and protect it from recissions and other attempts to claw back funding. We will also submit a statement for the record for an upcoming Senate Appropriations hearing on "Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation” that will take place on April 30. We urge you to join us in our efforts by taking action in our online campaign to tell your members of Congress to protect NIH funding for Fiscal Year 2026.
If you are experiencing difficulty in obtaining your funding or cannot draw down funds, please email us at [email protected] to make sure we can let Congress know about the extent of the challenges facing the biomedical research community. We will circulate a form next week that will help us gather additional information on the current funding situation.
In collaboration with Dr. Leo Trasande, a member of the Society’s endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) Advisory Group, the Endocrine Society has prepared a new one-page factsheet highlighting how food can be a source of exposures to EDCs and what the Food and Drug Administration can do to better protect consumers. Our key recommendations are to close the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) loophole, consider cumulative and mixture effects for food additives, modernize testing requirements and use the latest science to assess endocrine effects, and establish labeling requirements for additives with limited safety data. The new resource will be shared with policymakers and agencies who are responsible for implementing food safety regulations.
The Endocrine Society’s Clinical Affairs Core Committee will host the third annual Endocrine Mentor Day (eMD) at ENDO 2025 in San Francisco. The event will take place on Sunday, July 13. During the event, medical students and residents will be paired with an Endocrine Society member as their “mentor” for the day. Mentors will guide attendees around ENDO and introduce them to ENDO’s signature programs, including poster presentations, Meet the Professor sessions, and the ENDOExpo hall. The event has been a big success in the past two years due in large part to our terrific mentors. If you are interested in joining us for this program as a mentor, please email Ellie Cliff at [email protected].
We rely on your voice to advocate for our policy priorities. Join us to show our strength as a community that cares about endocrinology. Contact your US representatives or European Members of Parliament through our online platform. Take action and make a difference today.
