The Trump administration has spent the year cutting billions in federal grants for health research and calling for substantial cuts to the National Institutes of Health. Our president and CEO Aaron Carroll spoke with Dan Gorenstein on the Tradeoffs podcast about the future of health care research and federal funding and the importance of health services research in making our health care system less costly, more effective and safer.
“Federal funding really is irreplaceable,” Carroll said. “Arbitrary cuts don’t raise quality. All they do is wipe out whole areas of inquiry and drive talent out of the field because people get scared.”
Health services research is funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The Trump administration has decimated staffing levels at the agency and wants to end the AHRQ‘s grantmaking role.
“Cuts don’t just slow research down. They dismantle capacity. For AHRQ, from what we hear, even if they wanted to get the grants out, there’s like nobody to push the button and do the paperwork and get it going,” Carroll said.”
Dr. Carroll’s comments on the podcast reflect the hard work happening across AcademyHealth as we continue to respond swiftly and strategically to threats against AHRQ. In recent weeks AcademyHealth has:
- Exposed AHRQ’s operational collapse due to illegal impoundments: AHRQ’s Grant Function is Collapsing
- Worked with Congress and GAO to investigate these actions: GAO Investigation into AHRQ Impoundments
- Supported litigation to restore lawful grantmaking and protect scientific independence: Protecting the Science That Improves Health Care
- Analyzed the Administration’s August 7 Executive Order, which politicizes grantmaking: Executive Order Signals a Break from Science-Driven Health Research
- Raised concerns about AHRQ’s new strategic plan, which abandons core priorities: The Looming Trade-Off: What’s at Stake for AHRQ’s Gold-Standard Focus
AcademyHealth is unwavering in our commitment to ensure that evidence drives decisions, influences policy, and improves health and health care for all. We will continue to be a resource to all those involved in health care and health services research—but we can’t do this alone. We need support from those who understand the value of evidence-based policies and the critical role AcademyHealth plays in shaping a data-driven health care system. You can make a donation today by texting AcademyHealth to 44-321.
Listen to the episode here: https://tradeoffs.org/2025/10/09/future-of-health-care-research-federal-funding-really-is-irreplaceable/