UJ
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The Trump administration is developing plans to reduce the federal health budget by approximately one-third, eliminate numerous programs, and significantly downsize health agencies, as indicated by an internal document examined by UJ.
The draft memo, sent by White House budget officials to the Department of Health and Human Services, outlines the administration’s intent to drastically cut discretionary federal health expenditures and reshape health agencies in alignment with President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” vision.
Dated April 10, the document may still undergo changes before finalization. If implemented as is, it could result in annual cuts of tens of billions of dollars to total federal health spending. Moreover, it would merge various health programs and departments into the newly created Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), a structure introduced by Kennedy amidst significant layoffs earlier this month.
Proposed cuts would include substantial reductions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is anticipated to see its budget slashed by over 40% under this administration’s plan.
The proposal also aims to eliminate CDC’s global health center along with programs dedicated to chronic disease prevention and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention. Although some aspects of the agency’s work are expected to transition into newly established AHA centers, various initiatives such as those addressing gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning, minority health, and others would be entirely discontinued.
Many employees from these CDC departments faced layoffs following a significant reduction-in-force announcement on April 1.
The draft plan would also abolish several rural health initiatives within HHS, including grants and residency programs aimed at supporting rural hospitals and state offices. However, other rural health programs like black lung clinics will be retained but relocated to the primary care department of the new AHA.
If executed, these proposed cuts could serve as a framework for Republicans seeking to reduce federal spending. The president is set to present his budget request to Congress, which is currently debating Republican strategies to cut the federal budget by as much as $1.5 trillion.
The Washington Post was the first to disclose details regarding the proposed budget request.
The preliminary proposal suggests cutting the National Institutes of Health’s budget by over 40% and downsizing its 27 research institutes and centers to only eight.
While preserving the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute on Aging, institutes focused on childhood illnesses, mental health, chronic diseases, disabilities, and substance abuse would be reorganized into five new entities: the National Institute on Body Systems, the National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Disability Related Research, and the National Institute of Behavioral Health.
The budget also presumes that the administration’s earlier attempt to limit indirect payments to universities to 15%, which was blocked by a court ruling, would be enacted. Historically, these payments have played a significant role in funding medical research.
Although the National Institutes of Health has typically received bipartisan support for budget increases, increasing calls from GOP lawmakers for reform have emerged. Last year, House Republican leaders proposed consolidating the institutes into 15 entities while also indicating a possible slight increase in the budget.
The proposal would also implement a salary cap for employees hired under Title 42, a provision from the National Institutes of Health that allows the agency more flexibility in appointing experts to senior positions. Many high-ranking officials, including the recently retired director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, were employed under Title 42.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
