HHS Spending Bill Would Uphold Health Professions, Public Health, Research Funding

On March 22, the House of Representatives passed, by a 286-134 vote, the second fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending package that includes the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. The bill would largely maintain funding for medical research, health care workforce programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and public health agencies at FY 2023 levels.

The bill would provide a net total of $300 million in new funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including investments in research on mental health, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and other priorities. The total program level for NIH's base would be $47.081 billion, $378 million (0.8%) below the comparable FY 2023 funding level, though the reduction is the result of a scheduled decrease in funding available to NIH in FY 2024 through the 21st Century Cures Act. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) would receive $1.5 billion, flat compared to the FY 2023 enacted level.

HRSA Title VII and Title VII Health Professions Education and Training programs would receive $815.8 million, a $6 million (7.0%) increase over FY 2023 enacted levels. Funding for medical student education would receive $60 million, the same level as FY 2023. The bill also would boost discretionary funding modestly for the National Health Service Corps ($128.6, a $3 million or 2.3% increase) and the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education program ($385 million, a $5 million or 1.2% increase). The bill would provide $9.2 billion for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, a $4.5 million (0.5%) increase, and would provide $369 million, a $4.5 million (1.2%) cut, to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

In addition, the bill would preserve existing policy riders but rejected several new policy provisions proposed in the House bill, including provisions that would have limited research; diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; reproductive health; and education activities.