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Budget Cuts Series: Medical Research, Healthcare Face Deep Cuts
In Smart Dissent's Budget Cuts Series, we are examining the White House proposed budget cuts to learn what's hidden beneath the surface and later update based on Congressional budget proposals and actions. This post focuses on proposed significant cuts to medical research and healthcare that we must Be Smart about and Actively Dissent.
The proposed budget unveiled Tuesday by the Trump administration doubles down on major cuts to biomedical research; programs to fight infectious disease outbreaks; health care for the poor, elderly and disabled; and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Here's a brief summary of the medical research and health care proposed cuts:
Medicaid: The budget proposes cutting Medicaid and CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, by $616 billion over 10 years... it appears that the $616 billion number doesn't include the roughly $800 billion that would be cut from Medicaid funding by the House-passed version of the American Health Care Act. The joint federal-state programs provide health care and support services for 75 million low-income, elderly and disabled people, about half of whom are children.
Medicaid benefits for the elderly and disabled: Medicaid pays for services — including personal care, shopping or cooking for the elderly, and occupational therapy and work support for the disabled — that allow people to continue to live on their own. Under the proposed budget, those services are considered optional.
National Institutes of Health: The NIH, which funds research into medical treatments and basic science, would see cuts of almost $6 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. The cuts would "cripple our nation's scientific efforts, undermining our economic growth, public health and national security," Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities, said in a statement. The cuts could "hobble our ability to provide tomorrow's cures and technologies."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The administration proposes trimming the CDC, which helps states and other countries fight infectious disease outbreaks, by $1.3 billion — 17 percent.
Food and Drug Administration: A 31 percent proposed cut, from $2.7 billion to $1.89 billion...
Planned Parenthood: This budget would be the first to bar a specific provider, according to Planned Parenthood. And it would bar the organization not only from Medicaid funding but also from any other Health and Human Services program, including the Title X family planning program, maternal and child health, STD testing and treatment, and Zika prevention. "The heartbreaking truth is that if this budget were enacted, the results would be catastrophic for countless women and their families — cancers and diseases going undetected, higher maternal mortality and more unintended pregnancies."
Photo Credit: Associated Press