Executive Orders and Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten the Health of Millions
The release of various White House executive orders and the proposed discretionary budget blueprint released on Friday, May 2 pose a significant threat to patient care across the country.
Drastic cuts proposed for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), $18 billion and $3.6 billion respectively, represent nearly half their entire budgets.
The President’s proposed budget includes the elimination of the Cancer Prevention and Control Division which houses the colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program at the CDC, and it would consolidate the current 25 NIH Institutes and Centers to just eight. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases would be consolidated into a new entity, the “National Institute on Body Systems.”
These proposed cuts, if carried out by Congress, as well as the recent targeted discontinuation of funding by the Administration for certain NIH and CDC programs, activities and research represent a sweeping downsizing of federal support that will undermine healthcare access, turn back the clock on research and innovation and hamper improvements in public health for all Americans. Federal spending cuts that will sweep across the Department of Health and Human Services will have a particularly profound effect on vulnerable patient populations and underserved communities.
Risks to patients include:
- Reduced access to care and providers
- Delayed diagnosis and treatment
- Greater disparities for vulnerable populations
- Higher out-of-pocket costs
- Longer wait times at the Veterans’ Administration (VA) and rural sites
- Lower quality, fragmented care
- Erosion of trust in health system
In response to this unprecedented threat, ASGE reaffirms its commitment to health equity and putting patients at the center of all that we do.
For 90 years, ASGE has championed the value of CRC screening. Today, we are administering a demonstration program in Georgia and Maryland to provide CRC screening for uninsured populations. Through this initiative, we aim to create a sustainable model for funding CRC screening programs that serve vulnerable populations nationwide. Improving screen rates for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., requires investment in outreach, research, and community-specific strategies. These efforts identify and close gaps in care. Cutting federal resources that enable this life-saving work contradicts any claim to “Make America Healthy.”
ASGE will continue to lead in advocating for policies that protect access to high quality gastroenterology care, and we will remain committed to working with federal and state policymakers to mitigate the harmful impact of executive actions and to stop further budget and spending cuts that put patient health and safety at risk.