As the landscape of research funding and health policy continues to evolve, AcademyHealth remains committed to keeping you informed and engaged. From federal funding disruptions to new data access initiatives and advocacy efforts for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), this issue dives into the pressing topics affecting the research community. In today’s issue:
- Federal Funding Disruptions Threaten U.S. Scientific Research and Global Leadership
- AcademyHealth is Taking Action to Protect the Future of AHRQ
- AcademyHealth Members-Only Events: Town Hall and Strategies for Securing Funding
- New HHS Policy Reduces Public Comment Period for Health Regulations
- What We’re Reading: New Data Archives and DEI Legal Insights
Federal Funding Disruptions Threaten U.S. Scientific Research and Global Leadership
Recent policy changes and budgetary cuts have created significant disruptions in the flow of research funding, with the Trump administration implementing freezes on certain types of federal funding, including critical grants for scientific research. This decision has particularly impacted agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), which have been unable to distribute funding essential for ongoing and future research projects. The suspension of research grant review panels has further compounded the issue, stalling the evaluation and approval process necessary for the allocation of new grants.
Grassroots efforts by scientists, like a professor at Rutgers University, have emerged to track these disruptions. Her Google Sheet logs the cancellation of NIH study section meetings, which are crucial for grant reviews but have been sidelined by the federal funding freeze, affecting thousands of applications and billions in potential research dollars.
Concurrently, proposed budget cuts threaten key agencies, with reductions specifically targeting biomedical and environmental research. An imposed 15% cap on reimbursement rates for indirect costs from the NIH falls significantly below the average of 30% that institutions typically rely on. These cuts could slash federal funding to larger academic institutions by as much as $100-$200 million. We covered this topic in depth in a previous edition.
The New York Times recently analyzed the fiscal impact of the proposed NIH funding cap, indicating that these changes could dramatically reduce financial support for universities and hospitals nationwide. The analysis highlights the precarious position of top NIH grant recipients, showing considerable funding reductions if policy changes proceed.
The combination of disrupted grant processes, budgetary freezes, and capped indirect costs has resulted in financial instability at academic institutions, leading to tuition increases, hiring freezes and decreased graduate admissions. This instability may also have broader implications. Delays and uncertain timelines can affect researchers' career planning and could lead to a migration of talent to countries with more favorable funding environments. Such movement could impact the nation's capacity for innovation and economic growth, as well as its leadership role in global science and innovation.
Many of these actions are being challenged in the courts, and it is unclear how many of them will ultimately prevail. In the meantime, AcademyHealth is communicating with congressional leaders about the devastating implications of these changes and will keep our membership up to date.
AcademyHealth is Taking Action to Protect the Future of AHRQ
AcademyHealth is proud to announce that the Friends of AHRQ have sent to Congress a history smashing sign on letter calling for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to be fully funded in FY26. The 194 signatory organizations represent patients, doctors, nurses, researchers, hospitals, health systems, insurers, think tanks, universities, and more, all calling in one unanimous voice that Congress must protect and invest in AHRQ. Learn more in our recent blog post and join us by sharing the letter with your congressional members. AcademyHealth has developed one-pagers that are free to use in your advocacy and education efforts for AHRQ:
- What is Health Services Research?
- How does AHRQ support rural patients?
- What can AHRQ do about rural hospital closures?
- Health Services Research: Determining What Works and What Doesn’t in Healthcare
AcademyHealth Members-Only Events: Town Hall and Strategies for Securing Funding
Join us for two exclusive opportunities designed to help overcome current challenges in the research community. On March 13, AcademyHealth members are invited to an engaging webinar focused on securing research funding. This interactive session features a moderated discussion with a researcher, a private funder, and an experienced grant writer, providing diverse perspectives on the funding process. Participants will also engage in breakout groups to tackle specific challenges and share strategies. Register for Securing Funding – Strategies for Researchers here.
Then, on March 19 at 12:00 pm ET, join our members-only town hall with AcademyHealth President and CEO Aaron Carroll and Director of Government Affairs Josh Caplan. This session will explore the latest policy and funding challenges. Learn how Medicaid cuts, federal funding freezes, and workforce reductions could impact your work, and gain advocacy strategies to navigate these shifts. This is your chance to engage with AcademyHealth leadership, ask questions, and connect with fellow members. Register for AcademyHealth Town Hall here.
New HHS Policy Reduces Public Comment Period for Health Regulations
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a policy change reducing public comment periods for certain federal health regulations. This adjustment affects rules dating back to 1971, particularly those concerning public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts. Legal experts caution that this broadly worded change could impact numerous programs, including NIH grants and Medicaid policies. The lack of advance notice has raised concerns among health organizations about their ability to adapt to regulatory changes. Implications for health services and policy researchers include:
- Reduced Influence on Policy Development – Health services researchers often rely on public comment periods to provide evidence-based insights that shape federal regulations. With a shortened (or eliminated) public comment period, their ability to advocate for data-driven policies would be diminished.
- Less Transparency in Rulemaking – Regulatory changes affecting healthcare programs (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, NIH funding) may be implemented more quickly and with less stakeholder input, making it harder for researchers to anticipate and adapt to policy shifts.
- Challenges for Grant and Programmatic Changes – If grant-related rules or healthcare program guidelines change without the typical notice period, researchers could face funding disruptions or compliance challenges.
What We’re Reading: New Data Archives and DEI Legal Insights
In this section, we offer an overview of the Harvard Library Innovation Lab's launch of the Data.gov Archive, providing extensive access to federal datasets, as well as insights into a memo that clarifies the legal framework for DEI initiatives in light of recent executive actions.
New Data.gov Archive Offers Extensive Access to Federal Datasets
Harvard’s Library Innovation Lab has launched the Data.gov Archive on Source Cooperative, offering access to over 311,000 datasets from 2024 and 2025, amounting to 16TB of data. Updated daily, the archive ensures sustained access to vital federal public datasets for researchers, policymakers, and the public. With open-source tools and documentation provided, the project supports broader efforts in data preservation and accessibility. Learn more here. Additional crowd-sourced data resources include:
- DataLumos archives and shares valuable public data, supporting government and social research.
- Data Rescue Project is a clearinghouse for data rescue-related efforts and data access points for at risk public US governmental data.
Memo Outlines Legality of DEI Programs Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent
This memo, written by law professors who study and teach antidiscrimination law, education law, employment law, constitutional law, and civil rights, explains why common DEI initiatives remain legally defensible notwithstanding President Trump’s January 21, 2025 Executive Order and related agency communications like the Department of Education’s February 14 Dear Colleague Letter.
Previous Updates
This is the 8th in a series of Situation Report updates from AcademyHealth. You can find prior issues here.
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