On June 26, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) released FY 2025 bill text as part of the appropriations process for funding NIH, CDC, and other health-related agencies. House Republicans are proposing a 7% cut to the Department of Health & Human Services, funding cuts for NIH, CDC, and other health programs. The bill also assumes a restructuring of NIH through the consolidation of 27 Institutes and Centers to 15, adopting a framework recently introduced by Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, that would combine several institutes into one and eliminate others. The bill also includes several troubling policy riders that include eliminating Title X funding and restricting fetal tissue research.
The Endocrine Society opposes this bill and is urging members of the House of Representatives to oppose. Your voice, as a constituent, is vital to protecting funding for endocrine health research. Join the Endocrine Society’s campaign before July 10 to urge your Members of Congress to protect research funding.
The Society will continue to work with Congress to provide appropriate research funding for FY 2025. Earlier this year, the Society submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee encouraging Congress to fund NIH at $51.303 billion (exclusive of additional funds to the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health), to fund CDC at $11.58 billion, and to fund the Title X program at $512 million.
On June 27, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a modified version of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA). The version that passed would only allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive coverage of anti-obesity medications (AOMs) if they were previously receiving AOM coverage on a non-Medicare plan in the year before enrolling onto Medicare. During the mark-up, some members of the committee expressed concerns about the new version of TROA widening health disparities, while other members expressed optimism that these concerns could be addressed as this bill moves through the legislative process. Some committee members also expressed concern about the rising price of AOMs, citing the low cost of these medications in other countries.
The Endocrine Society has not endorsed this new version of TROA because of concerns expressed about widening disparities and because the bill does not include Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) in the statute. We will continue to work with Congress to advance legislation and strengthen the bill by addressing these concerns.
Prior to committee consideration of the legislation, the Endocrine Society released a podcast interview with Congressman Raul Ruiz (D-CA), who is one of the sponsors of TROA. During our podcast, we talked with Congressman Ruiz about TROA and what Endocrine Society members can do to educate members of Congress about this issue. The Congressman talked about the importance of contacting your congressional representatives and urging them to address the obesity epidemic. We encourage all Endocrine Society members to take action on our TROA advocacy campaign.
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 U.S representatives or European Members of Parliament through our online platform. Take action and make a difference today.