Tag: Policy

  • STAT+: House votes to temporarily block Trump plan to politicize federal grants

    STAT+: House votes to temporarily block Trump plan to politicize federal grants

    Research policy was included in must-pass government funding bill

    Samuel Corum/Getty Images

    John writes about the politics of health care, and he is the author of the twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter. You can reach John on Signal at John_Wilkerson.07.

    Anil Oza is a general assignment reporter at STAT focused on the NIH and health equity. You can reach him on Signal at aniloza.16.

    WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to pass a stopgap government-funding bill that temporarily blocks the White House’s proposal to give political appointees more control over federal research grants.

    The vote was 370-48 in favor. The Senate passed the same bill a month ago, so it now goes to the president for his signature. 

    The reprieve is brief. The bill funds the government until Dec. 11 to get past the midterm elections without a government shutdown, and the ban on the research-funding policy expires at the same time.

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    1. John writes about the politics of health care, and he is the author of the twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter. You can reach John on Signal at John_Wilkerson.07.

    2. General Assignment Reporter

      Anil Oza is a general assignment reporter at STAT focused on the NIH and health equity. You can reach him on Signal at aniloza.16.

  • STAT+: Will House delay Trump plan to politicize NIH grants? 

    STAT+: Will House delay Trump plan to politicize NIH grants? 

    You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    A New York bar sells a spritz in a Hermès-esque glass purse, while in Baltimore you can get a spritz made with Miller High Life beer. Way to keep it real, guys. Send news tips and your favorite cocktail of the Deadliest Drug to [email protected] or John_Wilkerson.07 on Signal.

    The need-to-know this week

    • The House returns for one week and will vote on the Senate’s stopgap funding bill that temporarily blocks the White House’s proposal to give political appointees control over federal research grants. The House will use a fast-track process that requires two-thirds support for passage, signaling that House GOP leadership believes the Senate bill will pass. The House vote is expected Tuesday evening, according to Punchbowl News. Were it to fail, lawmakers would have to wait until the Senate returns on Sept. 14 to work out differences between the two chambers’ bills.
    • Congressional Medicare advisers kick off their annual public meeting cycle on Thursday. This cycle, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will analyze the Part D benefit redesign. The redesign reduced cost sharing for beneficiaries and gave insurers more reason to manage costs, but it has probably also contributed to more spending. MedPAC also will study clinician quality measurements, and commissioners will continue their work on Medicare Advantage.

    Nine, or 10, more MFN deals

    President Trump announced nine more deals to set drug prices in Medicaid on par with prices available in peer countries, Daniel Payne and Elaine Chen report. But it seems they missed one.

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  • STAT+: NIH proposal to cap research grants draws mixed reception, agency says

    STAT+: NIH proposal to cap research grants draws mixed reception, agency says

    By Anil Oza

    Sept. 1, 2026

    General Assignment Reporter

    Under the Trump administration, competition for government funding for biomedical research has reached new heights. In June, the National Institutes of Health proposed one solution: limiting the number of grants each individual scientist can have at a given moment. 

    The agency recently released the anonymized 3,307 responses to its call for feedback, and it appears the proposal has drawn more mixed reactions than earlier such proposals. The NIH estimates that 40% of the responses opposed the proposal, 27% supported the idea of a cap, and 32% were mixed. 

    In a post on its site, the agency said it hopes a cap could “contribute to a more balanced research portfolio, advancing stewardship, workforce sustainability, and the goals of the NIH Unified Funding Strategy.” But even some experts who agree with the spirit of the proposal worry that it could be another source of disruption for researchers in what has been a tumultuous time; some also argue that a straight cap on the number of grants may be too simplistic. 

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