Health Care
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Health Care
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Trump budget document proposes deep cuts to HHS
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The Trump administration is aiming to cut the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget by a third next year, according to a proposal leaked Wednesday.
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The department had a discretionary budget of about $121 billion in fiscal year 2024, but the Trump administration is now seeking to reduce that budget to about $80 billion in fiscal year 2026, according to a preliminary budget memo obtained by The Washington Post.
The preliminary document calls for eliminating entire agencies to reduce the department’s budget, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
It also calls for the creation of a new agency called the Administration for a Healthy America and would encompass parts of agencies facing potential funding cuts, like the National Institutes of Health.
The proposal cuts all funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, which President Trump launched during his first administration. HHS has already gutted numerous branches of its HIV response office, worrying stakeholder on the future of ongoing efforts to combat the epidemic.
Reports on the preliminary budget change come after the Trump administration has massively restructured HHS, laying off 10,000 employees at the department. Another 10,000 employees have left their job after taking a “fork in the road” offer from the Trump administration.
This budget is not a final submission and anything that is submitted would need the approval of Congress to be implemented.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:
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UnitedHealth Group stock drops sharply as it slashes earnings outlook
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UnitedHealth Group’s stock dropped sharply on Thursday after the insurance giant slashed its earnings outlook for 2025. The announcement led to a broad drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell 527 points, or 1.3 percent. The reason: People enrolled in its Medicare plans needed more care than anticipated. For an insurance company, the less it pays out for its enrollees to get care, the more profit it makes. …
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Gwen Walz on RFK Jr. comments: People with autism ‘contribute more to this nation than this man ever will’
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Minnesota’s first lady, Gwen Walz, slammed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert. F Kennedy Jr. over comments he made Wednesday about autism. In a Wednesday press conference on a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kennedy said “autism destroys families.” “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which [is] our children,” he added. “These are children who should not be, …
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Florida Democrat chides RFK Jr. over ‘disrespectful’ rhetoric around autism
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Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for comments he made Wednesday about autism. In a Wednesday press conference on a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kennedy said that “autism destroys families.” “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which [is] our children,” he added. “These are children who should not be, …
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Branch out with a different read:
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NIH researcher retires early over censorship concerns under RFK Jr. leadership
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Kevin Hall, a top nutrition researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said he is retiring early, claiming his work was censored after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Hall, who examined food environments and chronic diseases, said there were bipartisan goals to examine diet-related chronic diseases and highlighted Kennedy’s goal of tackling ultra-processed …
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Local and state headlines on health care:
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- San Francisco drug overdose deaths rise for fourth straight month (San Francisco Chronicle)
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Arkansas adopts first-in-the-nation law forcing companies to choose between running a PBM or pharmacies (Stat)
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Trump is spending billions on border security. Some residents living there lack basic resources (The Texas Tribune)
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Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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CDC scientists: Texas measles outbreak response hurt by funding cuts (The Washington Post)
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Stem cells to treat Parkinson’s? Two small studies hint at success (NPR)
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As fentanyl deaths slow, meth comes to Maine (The New York Times)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now:
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Appeals court won’t lift order to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s return in blistering opinion
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The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday declined to lift a judge’s order that the Trump administration “facilitate” the return of Kilmar … Read more
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The pathetic, slow-motion downfall of Barack Obama
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Houseguests and fish begin to smell after three days, as the saying goes. But ex-presidents who stay in Washington, D.C., reek almost immediately. … Read more
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill:
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The private sector must lead the way in biomedical research
- Medicaid cuts jeopardize the right to age at home
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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!
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