Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the $1 trillion Omnibus spending bill to fund the government through the end of fiscal 2014.
The bill restores funding for many agencies and spending categories to pre-sequestration levels. Healthcare, however, will continue to feel the impact of cuts in some areas.
Medicare's sequestration cuts were extended for two years as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, meaning providers will continue to experience a 2 percent cut in their payments through 2016.
The omnibus bill cuts funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund by $1 billion and for the Independent Payment Advisory Board by $10 million.
National Institutes of Health funding will also remain below pre-sequestration levels. While the omnibus bill does increase NIH funding by $1 billion, the total funding level will remain $700 million below pre-sequestration levels.
As I've written on this blog before, continuing to fund biomedical research is critical to maintaining the pipeline for medical innovation, preserving the U.S.'s dominance in the field and keep the opportunities for new job creation research creates.
When adjusting for inflation, the fiscal year 2013 NIH budget is 22 percent lower than it was in 2003. Additionally, the number of research project grants funded by the NIH has also dropped from 10,393 in 2003 to 8,232 in 2013.
While the omnibus bill is an improvement, it doesn't get us to levels similar to where we were a decade years ago — and that is cause for concern.
A statement by the American Association of Medical Colleges explains the degree of concern:
"While the AAMC appreciates congressional leaders' efforts on the FY 2014 appropriations agreement, this legislation fails to restore all the essential funding that was cut from the National Institutes of Health by sequestration, limiting opportunities for lifesaving medical research to help patients…Investment in medical research supported by NIH is the beginning of hope for patients suffering from serious illnesses, like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's. Restoring funding for NIH research today will pay a lifetime of dividends in better health and quality of life for all Americans. In the months to come, we urge lawmakers to determine a balanced approach to long-term deficit reduction that results in predictable funding for NIH."
I don't think the AAMC has overstated the crux of their argument: Reduced funding means fewer projects that could potentially lead to a cure for the numerous diseases that reduce American's quality of life, or end it.
The federal government without a doubt has numerous competing priorities they must fund, but maintaining a sizeable pipeline of research to treat and cure the diseases that most plague their population should be one of the highest.