A tumultuous month for autism researchers
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
A tumultuous month for autism researchers
A new era of vaccine policy has arrived, now that Kennedy fired all of the group’s old members and handpicked their replacements. With only three months left in the fiscal year, the odds that the NIH will be able to spend all of its $47 billion budget are rapidly dimming. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that states can block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid money for health services such as contraception and cancer screenings. Some universities are forcing their scientists to halt studies and lay off lab workers as a result of the fiscal chaos. The budget bill backed by President Donald Trump in Congress would also cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. The Senate parliamentarian removed several major health care measures in the Republicans’ tax bill that the GOP is trying to pass. The decision could lead lawmakers to look elsewhere for potential Medicaid cuts that have incurred among Republican lawmakers. It could also lead to further potential infighting among GOP lawmakers among potential potential cuts to Medicaid cuts. The deadline for researchers to submit their findings for a new study on autism is July 4.
Lots of news today, but a quick aside to say Happy Pride as June winds down!
A new era of vaccine policy has arrived
The meeting began with an airing of four-year-old grievances and closed with a move to cement a decades-old, long-dismissed anti-vaccine talking point into U.S. national policy. So went the first meeting of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a hearing unlike any other in the nerdy, august body’s 64-year-history.
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It’s clear that a new era of vaccine policy has arrived, now that Kennedy fired all of the group’s old members and handpicked their replacements. The individuals tasked with making critical health recommendations for millions harbor long-simmering anger against the public health establishment or ties to the conspiracy-ridden anti-vaccine movement.
“We have an ACIP. It’s just not a good or qualified or trustworthy ACIP,” said Dorit Reiss, who studies vaccine law and policy at University of California, San Francisco. “I think at this point, it might be time to either disband the committee completely or legislate to preserve its integrity.”
STAT’s Jason Mast has the scoop.
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NIH funding math isn’t math-ing
In March, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya vowed to restart grant reviews and ensure the agency’s congressionally appropriated money was properly allocated. But in the ensuing months, the agency has made zero progress on narrowing the funding gap, according to a new analysis from STAT.
The funding deficit from frozen grants has grown from $2.3 billion at the end of April to at least $4.7 billion by mid-June. And with only three months left in the fiscal year, the odds that the NIH will be able to spend all of its $47 billion budget are rapidly dimming. This gap is not just a federal budget line item: Some universities are forcing their scientists to halt studies and lay off lab workers.
The fiscal turmoil doesn’t end there, either. Buried in President Trump’s 2026 budget is a proposal to award up to half of all NIH research grants as multi-year awards. This shift would provide scientists with more flexibility, but requires an infusion of cash from Congress when the White House wants to slash the agency’s budget by 40%.
It’s been a few head-spinning months at the NIH, but this story from my colleagues Megan Molteni and Emory Parker does an excellent job of making sense of the fiscal chaos.
Supreme Court tanks Planned Parenthood’s public funding
Planned Parenthood has provided non-abortion community health care for decades, but that could soon change. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that states can block the organization from receiving Medicaid money for health services such as contraception and cancer screenings.
Medicaid patients go to Planned Parenthood for other needs because it can be tricky to find a doctor who takes the publicly funded insurance. While Medicaid law allows people to choose their own provider, it doesn’t make that a right enforceable in court, the justices found. The ruling effectively closes off the organization’s primary legal pathway to keeping Medicaid funding in place: lawsuits from patients.
The decision comes as Republicans across the country seek to defund the organization. The budget bill backed by President Donald Trump in Congress would also cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. Read more on the ruling.
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Senate parliamentarian strikes down Medicaid measures
The Medicaid drama continued Thursday after the Senate parliamentarian removed several major health care measures in Republicans’ tax bill, including Medicaid changes that the GOP needed to help pay for President Trump’s tax cuts.
The parliamentarian’s decision could lead lawmakers to look elsewhere for new savings, but the decision could further the infighting that potential Medicaid cuts have incurred among Republican lawmakers. Trump’s July 4 deadline to pass the bill may also be in jeopardy.
The parliamentarian rejected a contentious provision restricting provider taxes, which states use to increase federal funding to their Medicaid programs, as well as several measures related to gender-affirming care and health care for immigrants. Read more from STAT’s John Wilkerson and Daniel Payne.
A tumultuous month for autism researchers
It’s deadline day for autism researchers to submit a research proposal to the Autism Data Science Initiative at the NIH. The skepticism that potential applicants expressed two weeks ago is mostly unresolved, though agency officials have contacted potential peer reviewers.
Worries over the data agreements or how the agency will control research conclusions haven’t stopped researchers from throwing their hat into the ring, however. One source I spoke with suggested there have been at least 100 applicants vying for a slice of the $50 million pot.
One potential reason? It’s unclear if or when additional public funding will emerge. Earlier this summer, Hannah Morton submitted an application to study autism with a Health Resources and Services Administration grant earlier this summer. The award is supposed to start July 1, but the University of North Carolina psychiatry professor is still waiting to hear back.
The uncertain future of federal autism research and the tumultuous early days for this initiative are affecting potential applicants. “It’s not being done in as thoughtful of a way as it could or should be because we just don’t have time to do it,” Morton said.
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Black, Hispanic patients less likely to receive key addiction medications
When it comes to opioid addiction care, Black and Hispanic patients are still being left outside the pharmacy door. A new study in JAMA Network Open finds they’re “significantly less likely” than white patients to receive buprenorphine or naltrexone — two of the most commonly prescribed medications for opioid use disorder.
Within 180 days of a nonfatal overdose or substance-related infection, Black patients were 17.1% less likely and Hispanic patients 16.2% less likely to receive either drug. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that addiction treatment in the United States is shaped by race. But it’s the first to analyze data across multiple payers: Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance.
The study confirms what advocates have long warned: Treatments are expanding, but at a far from equal pace. Read more from STAT’s Lev Facher on how race still shapes addiction care — and why more treatment doesn’t mean equal access. — Neha Gopal
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