On September 4, Members of the House Appropriations Labor-Health and Human Services (L-HHS) Subcommittee voted to advance a bill to fund the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The bill provides $108.6 billion for HHS, a 6% cut from Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The Subcommittee maintained the NIH base budget compared to the previous year. Importantly, this funding bill preserves the current structure of NIH’s Institutes and Centers and increases funding the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) by $20 million above FY 2025 levels.
The House bill, however, includes cuts to several other health programs. It would cut the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) by over $500 million It cuts funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by $1.7 billion and eliminates funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
This funding bill is ready to be considered by the full House Appropriations committee, though a hearing date has not yet been announced. Action by the House Subcommittee follows the recent vote by the full Senate appropriations committee, which provides $48.7 billion for NIH, an increase of $400 million over FY 2025 and also rejected administration proposals to restructure the NIH and cut indirect cost rates.
While these funding levels from the House and Senate show bipartisan support for and understanding of the value of biomedical research, the NIH is still under threat without passage of a full appropriations bill before the current fiscal year ends on September 30. Without action by Congress, we could face a government shutdown, which would be extremely harmful to research funded by NIH. We urge you to take action through our campaign to tell Congress to protect and advance funding for NIH by October 1. Endocrine Society advocacy has helped to protect NIH evidenced by the House Subcommittee and Senate Committee on Appropriations bills. We urge our members who receive NIH funding to continue to join us to ensure final legislation is passed before the fiscal year deadline.
Endocrine Society members Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP; Thomas Zoeller, PhD; Laura Vandenberg, PhD; and Jane Muncke, PhD, joined a panel of experts to discuss global governance on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at an event organized by the Geneva Environment Network and several partner organizations on September 1. During the event, titled “Road to UNGA & UNEA | Global Governance on Endocrine Disruptors: From Science to Policy” they explained how science supports action at the local, national, and international level to address and minimize exposure to EDCs to prevent health harms and economic costs. The event also featured representatives from several intergovernmental policymaking bodies, including the Secretariat for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, and the Global Framework on Chemicals. The panel and discussions are aimed at ensuring EDCs remain on the agenda in the run up to the UN General Assembly this month as the upcoming session of the UN Environment Assembly in December. The Endocrine Society’s global EDC advocacy initiative has helped advance a global UN treaty on plastics and better regulation of EDCs in the European Union. The Society has been recognized as a credible voice of science in policy discussions about EDCs. We are pleased that our member experts had another opportunity to share the science and the Society’s position to global leaders.
The Endocrine Society submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on a proposal to reclassify how Medicare pays for continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and insulin pumps. CMS has proposed to reclassify CGM and insulin pumps into the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) competitive bidding program. Under this program, Medicare beneficiaries would pay for these devices through rental agreements. CMS currently uses a five-year repayment cycle for CGMs and pumps and the beneficiary then owns the device after the payments have concluded. In our letter we expressed strong concerns about how this proposal could impact prescribing decisions, patient choice, and administrative burden for physicians. We urged CMS not to finalize this proposal because of potential unintended consequences, which could hinder patient access and affordability. A copy of the letter we sent is available here on our website.
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.
