Advocacy in Action

Funding Bill for National Institutes of Health Passes House of Representatives; Includes Extension of Special Diabetes Program, Telehealth 

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a package of appropriations bills, including the Labor-HHS-Education bill that funds the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The Endocrine Society has advocated for swift passage of the legislation to ensure funding would not expire at the end of the month and urged support for several provisions, which were included.  The legislation now goes to the U.S. Senate, which must pass it before the January 30 deadline.

There are several significant advocacy wins to share from the legislation:

• NIH received a funding increase of $47.8 billion, including funding for ARPA-H.  This represents an increase of about $1.8 billion to NIH over last year. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) – two of the biggest funders of Endocrine Society members – received increases in spending over prior year levels and the Office of Research on Women’s Health received an increase of $30 million.
• The legislation also includes language the Endocrine Society advocated for to protect NIH-funded researchers in several ways. It prohibits capping the rates for Facilities and Administrative costs, (F&A, also known as indirect costs)  at 15% and instead requires the rates to be implemented under regulations that were in effect in FY17. The bill also includes language that limits multi-year funding and directs NIH to maintain its practice of including external scientists and stakeholders as part of the agency’s search to fill IC director vacancies.
• Attached to the bill is legislation that extends the Special Diabetes Program (SDP), another Endocrine Society advocacy priority.  The legislation extends SDP for one year at $200 million for each component of the program, which represents a $40 million increase over last year.
• The legislation extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities for two years, through December 31, 2026.  This will allow continued coverage for Medicare beneficiaries of telehealth, including the removal of geographic restrictions and allowing the home as an originating site and the use of audio-only communication for certain telehealth services.

The minibus now moves forward to the Senate for its vote, and assuming it is passed, the minibus must be signed into law by the President before January 30, otherwise a partial government shutdown will occur. Consequently, we strongly encourage our members to continue to take action through our campaign to urge the Senate to complete the appropriations process and support SDP.

Society Leads Effort to Protect NIH

The Endocrine Society organized a group of over 140 organizations representing a broad range of medical and public health interests to urge passage of a final appropriations bill for FY 26 that includes $48.7 billion for NIH and expresses concerns regarding proposals to use multi-year funding for grants and impose arbitrary caps on indirect costs.

Endocrine Society Conducts Congressional Briefing on Obesity and Liver Diseases

The Endocrine Society partnered with the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) to conduct a congressional briefing titled “GLP-1s: A Game Changer for the Treatment of Liver Disease” for congressional staff on January 22. The speakers included former Endocrine Society President, Dr. Dale Abel, and AASLD’s former President, Dr. Grace Su. During the briefing, the speakers educated attendees about how obesity affects the health, how GLP-1 medications work and effectively treat obesity and liver diseases, and why it is critical to support funding for the National Institutes of Health. This topic is timely given the news that the FDA approved a GLP-1 medication last August to treat Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH). In January, it was announced that an oral GLP-1 is now available for patients. The timing was also strategic as this week funding for the NIH was being considered by the House of Representatives. Following the briefing, Dr. Abel and Dr. Su met with their congressional representatives to discuss obesity research and appropriations funding. The briefing was attended by congressional staff on both sides of the aisle and provided an opportunity for us to present scientific information to help education policymakers . During the briefing, attendees also learned about the Society’s Obesity Playbook. The Playbook provides “101” information on obesity for congressional staff to help them work on the issue and respond to constituent questions. The briefing and playbook are two components of the Society’s Obesity Education Initiative. The initiative includes educational briefings for Members of Congress and other policymakers on obesity, media resources including podcasts, and science writer conferences, and other educational materials.