Blog | 3/28/2025

Trump Administration Healthcare News: March 28, 2025

Health Advances weekly healthcare tracker focused on top level government administration news.

NOTE: All words/analysis are those from the source noted, opinions are those of the original authors and not reflective of Health Advances in general nor any individual. All sources are non-confidential and in the public domain (but some may be behind paywalls).

This issue reflects news as of 11 AM on March 27, 2025. The details and broad themes may have changed.

KEY HEALTH NEWS (Global & US & EOs)

US to end funding for childhood vaccines in poorest countries, document shows

  • President Donald Trump's administration plans to end U.S. funding for Gavi, an organization that helps buy vaccines for children in poor countries, and will scale back efforts to fight malaria, according to a document prepared by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
  • The administration will go on funding some grants that pay for drugs to treat HIV and tuberculosis and provide food aid to nations experiencing civil wars and natural disasters, according to the document, which was first reported by the New York Times.
  • The 281-page document lists 898 programs that will remain active, totaling $78 billion in spending, much of it already disbursed.
  • In total, 5,341 awards will be terminated, representing just under $76 billion, the document says. The government has obligated, or made a legal commitment to spend, around $48 billion of that total.
  • "Each award terminated was reviewed individually for alignment with agency and administration priorities," a State Department spokesperson said, adding those terminated did not meet those priorities or advance the national interest.
  • https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-administration-end-funding-child-vaccines-developing-countries-new-york-2025-03-26/

KEY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NEWS

HHS to cut 10,000 staff in major restructuring under RFK Jr.

  • Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to dramatically reshape the department he leads through mass layoffs and consolidation of the sprawling agency that provides health insurance to tens of millions of Americans, responds to disease outbreaks and regulates medical products.
  • About 10,000 full-time employees at the Department of Health and Human Services will be let go under Kennedy’s plans, which were announced Thursday morning. The planned terminations are in addition to the roughly 10,000 or so employees who have already left HHS through other Trump administration efforts, such as offers of early retirement. All told, the department will shrink in size by about 25% to about 62,000 full-time employees.
  • HHS will also centralize many functions that are currently spread out across the department, consolidating work involving human resources, information technology, procurement and policy. The number of HHS regional offices will be cut in half to five, and the department’s 28 divisions will be reduced to 15.
  • “This will be a painful period for HHS as we downsize,” Kennedy said in taped comments posted to his official account on X. “We’re keenly focused on paring away excess administrators while increasing the number of scientists and front line health providers.”
  • Cuts will fall heaviest on the Food and Drug Administration, with about 3,500 employees affected, according to a department fact sheet. These cuts will not impact drug, medical device or food reviewers, or agency inspectors, HHS said.
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lose about 2,400 employees, although it will gain about 1,000 staff currently employed at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which the CDC will now absorb.
  • The National Institutes of Health’s workforce will be reduced by 1,200 employees, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will lose about 300 staff.
  • The layoffs are mainly aimed at administrative positions, as well as roles in “high-cost regions” or in areas “that have been determined to be redundant or duplicative,” according to an email sent from HHS to an employee union. Per the letter, employees could receive notices of termination as early as Friday, with layoffs effective in May.

Senate confirms Marty Makary to lead FDA, Jay Bhattacharya to head NIH

  • The Senate Tuesday confirmed Dr. Marty Makary to run the Food and Drug Administration and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health.
  • Both were confirmed largely along party lines. Makary was confirmed as FDA commissioner by a vote of 56-44, while Bhattacharya was confirmed as NIH director by a margin of 53-47.
  • Makary, a Johns Hopkins University surgeon and researcher, gained prominence on Fox News and other conservative outlets for his contrarian views during the COVID-19 pandemic. He questioned the need for masking and, though he was not opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine, Makary had concerns about vaccinations in young children.
  • Bhattacharya, a physician and professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, was also a critic of vaccine mandates during the pandemic. Bhattacharya was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 open letter maintaining that lockdowns were causing irreparable harm.
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-confirms-marty-makary-to-lead-fda-jay-bhattacharya-to-head-nih/

On NIH director’s first day, the agency tackles one of his priorities — ending ‘censorship’ in science

  • In October, Jay Bhattacharya, then a health economist at Stanford University, posted on X: “If you favor government control of misinformation, you are an enemy of free speech.”
  • On Wednesday, on his first morning serving as director of the National Institutes of Health, the agency directed staff to compile a list of grants and contracts related to “fighting misinformation or disinformation” — a step that in recent weeks has preceded the termination of research funding in areas that run counter to the Trump administration’s priorities.
  • The early morning email, marked “URGENT,” asked contracting officers at the NIH to respond by “noon today” with information on any contract that “may be related to any form of censorship at all or directing people to believe one idea over another related to health outcomes.” It goes on to list examples including contracts to promote vaccine uptake, or public health messages about the “danger of Covid or not wearing masks.”
  • https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/26/nih-director-jay-bhattacharya-first-day-compile-grants-related-to-misinformation-censorship/ (subscription required for full-text)

Who is Dr. Susan Monarez? Donald Trump's Pick to Lead CDC

  • President Donald Trump announced on Monday that acting director Dr. Susan Monarez is his selection to direct the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • Monarez has previously held several prominent positions within the U.S. government. She served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), where she led initiatives in artificial intelligence and health technology. She has also held roles at the Department of Homeland Security and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
  • This nomination is notable as Monarez would be the first CDC director to require Senate confirmation, following a law change in 2022. Previous directors could assume leadership immediately after presidential appointment without this process.
  • Monarez brings an unconventional background to the role, as previous interim directors typically came from within the CDC's career ranks. While not a physician, she holds a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology, and has been a government employee since 2006, serving under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
  • https://www.newsweek.com/who-dr-susan-monarez-donald-trumps-pick-lead-cdc-2049841

White House cuts $12B in health funds

  • HHS has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in grants to state health departments that supported efforts to track infectious diseases, expand mental health services and modernize outdated systems, according to The New York Times.
  • Late March 25, state health departments started receiving notices that $11.4 billion in grants from the CDC and roughly $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were being canceled immediately. “No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said, according to the Times.
  • https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/nih-fda-heads-confirmed-4-more-federal-health-updates/

Oz confirmation vote advances out of Senate Finance Committee

  • Mehmet Oz, M.D., is one step closer to earning the title of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator after the Senate Finance Committee voted on party lines to advance his nomination.
  • The committee voted 14-13 in favor, with all 14 Republicans voting in favor and 13 Democrats siding in opposition. The full Senate will now vote on his nomination.
  • He is expected to win the nomination, though Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has said he is skeptical over Oz’s record on abortion and trans rights. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, was the sole vote against during last month's confirmation of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  • https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/oz-confirmation-vote-advances-out-senate-finance-committee

NIH to cut grants for COVID research, documents reveal

  • The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun cancelling billions of dollars in funding on research related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • COVID-19 research funds “were issued for a limited purpose: to ameliorate the effects of the pandemic”, according to an internal NIH document that Nature has obtained and that provides the agency’s staff members with updated guidance on how to terminate these grants. “Now that the pandemic is over, the grant funds are no longer necessary,” the document states.
  • It is not clear how many COVID-19 grants will be terminated.
  • The NIH, which is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, has awarded grants to nearly 600 ongoing projects that include ‘COVID’ in the title, worth nearly US$850 million. Together these projects make up nearly 2% of the NIH’s $47 billion budget.
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00954-y?

NIH is removing some outside scientific advisers who evaluate agency research

  • Prominent outside scientists who help the National Institutes of Health evaluate its internal research programs are being abruptly removed, according to five advisers whose positions were terminated and a recording of an internal meeting obtained by STAT.
  • The motivations behind the removals from the agency’s boards of scientific counselors remain unclear.
  • For close to 70 years, the NIH’s in-house research programs have been subject to external review by committees of scientists from outside the agency. There are currently two dozen such advisory boards.
  • Each one is composed of independent experts from academia and industry who assess the quality and impact of the science being conducted at NIH, including reviews of research proposals, evaluations of employees’ performance, and recommendations about tenure decisions. Most boards meet two to three times a year, in order to ensure that each tenured and tenure-track NIH scientist is reviewed at least once every four years. Board members are appointed by the NIH director as special government employees and are paid a small stipend for the few days each year they meet. They are expected to serve five-year terms.
  • But starting about two weeks ago, members of at least four different boards began learning that they were being terminated early.
  • https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/nih-outside-scientific-advisers-being-removed/

CDC Launches Study on Vaccine-Autism Link Amid Ongoing Measles Outbreak

  • The CDC is set to initiate a large study investigating the belief that vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although decades of research have demonstrated there is no link, there remain some in the public who continue to have doubts. The decision has sparked significant debate among health experts, agency heads, and the US public at a time when vaccine hesitancy and medical mistrust has peaked.
  • In an interview with former United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, FASA, he expressed his cautious optimism on reigniting public trust in vaccination, so long as the CDC’s study is effectively designed.
  • “The overwhelming consensus in the scientific community is that vaccines don't cause autism, but it's also undeniable that lingering public questions and concerns still do exist,” he said. “This initiative if—and I want to emphasize the if here—done thoughtfully and without any agendas, could help reaffirm the safety of vaccines, could help reassure patients, and could ultimately strengthen public trust and immunization programs.”
  • https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/cdc-launches-study-on-vaccine-autism-link-amid-ongoing-measles-outbreak

Long Covid office ‘will be closing,’ Trump administration announces

  • The Trump administration is shuttering HHS’ long Covid office as part of its reorganization, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO.
  • The email was sent Monday by Ian Simon, the head of the Office of Long Covid Research and Practice. It said the closing is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ reorganization.
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 6 percent of U.S. adults suffer from some form of long Covid, while the National Institutes of Health believes that as many as 23 million people have the illness, which can range in severity from mild to debilitating.
  • A spokesperson for HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
  • OLC, housed within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, was established in 2023 and tasked with helping other agencies and HHS leadership address long Covid and coordinating a government-wide long Covid strategy.
  • https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/24/trump-administration-shuttering-office-of-long-covid-research-and-practice-00246836

Tara Schwetz, who oversaw creation of ARPA-H, placed on leave by NIH

  • The National Institutes of Health on Wednesday placed deputy director Tara Schwetz on administrative leave, according to a source familiar with the decision, marking the third time a senior leader has departed the agency since the Trump administration took power roughly nine weeks ago.
  • Schwetz had served as deputy director for coordination, planning, and strategic initiatives, a position she has held since late 2023. She previously served on a detail to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she played an instrumental role in the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, the new “moonshot” science agency housed within the NIH.

Trump nominates Planned Parenthood opponent to replace fired HHS OIG chief

  • President Donald Trump has named Thomas March Bell to replace Christi Grimm as inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
  • The watchdog position, currently staffed by acting Inspector General Juliet Hodgkins, evaluates agencies and conducts investigations designed to improve transparency and stop fraud, waste and abuse.
  • Although Bell would be tasked with assessing huge federal health programs through a nonpartisan lens, his nomination is already viewed with skepticism based on past roles within the government.
  • In 1997, the Virginia Department of Education forced Bell to resign as deputy director after he authorized nearly $8,000 in payments and taxpayer funds to a former spokesperson, The Washington Post reported at the time. He is currently chief counsel for House Republicans.
  • https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/trump-nominates-planned-parenthood-opponent-replace-fired-hhs-oig-chief  

Exclusive: FDA staff struggle to meet product review deadlines after DOGE layoffs

  • Some U.S. health regulators who review medical devices and tobacco products for safety and efficacy are struggling to meet deadlines mandated by Congress due to Trump administration layoffs, three scientists working on the projects told Reuters.
  • Two of the scientists who work at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said they had been assigned around double the number of new product applications for review since their colleagues were fired.
  • They said they were instructed to shelve other work, including oversight of other reviewers and providing early feedback on planned product applications before they are submitted for approval review.
  • One scientist at the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products said the center had delayed starting new applications while staff worked on existing submissions, some with reviews that must be completed within 180 days under U.S. law. Several tobacco-related research projects have also been canceled, he said.
  • "We have 180 days to complete those (existing) reviews, and we're not going to come anywhere close to that. It's just not going to happen," the scientist said.
  • A medical device reviewer said they were working to the wire to meet some deadlines.
  • The FDA did not respond to a request for comment.
  • https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/fda-staff-struggle-meet-product-review-deadlines-after-doge-layoffs-2025-03-27/

KEY BIOPHARMA NEWS

Carter: House Leadership Commits To Put PBM Reforms In Reconciliation Bill

  • House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Buddy Carter (R-GA) said Wednesday (March 26) he has a commitment from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other House leaders that pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms, which were axed from a continuing resolution package passed in December, will be included in the upcoming reconciliation deal.
  • “They can be used as pay-fors, they'll save the federal government some money. This will be an opportunity for us to get true PBM reform.”
  • https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/carter-house-leadership-commits-put-pbm-reforms-reconciliation-bill (subscription required for full text)

Alzheimer's Research Caught in Trump Funding Delays

  • Research and patient care may quickly stop at 14 of the country's Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) due to lack of funds.
  • Funding has effectively been halted at 14 of the nation's 35 ADRCs after the Trump administration repeatedly canceled NIH advisory council meetings, the final step required in the ADRC grant approval process.
  • "The 14 ADRCs remain in limbo," Alzheimer's researcher Ann Cohen, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, told MedPage Today.
  • Some of the 14 centers' grants have already ended, and some will run out on March 31. "Importantly, the final group of this cohort of 14 will run out of funding on April 30," Cohen said.
  • ADRCs are Centers of Excellence designated by Congress that provide local resources, support, and opportunities to participate in Alzheimer's and dementia research.
  • The centers were first established in 1984 and focus on specific areas of interest like Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, or Lewy body disease.
  • Through the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the NIH funds 35 ADRCs at research institutions in 24 states.
  • https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/alzheimersdisease/114843

BARDA cancels annual biomedical event for industry, government reps

  • An annual gathering of industry and government officials focused on biomedical countermeasures and pandemic response has been canceled.
  • The two-day event hosted by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a subagency within HHS, was slated for June 30 and July 1. An update posted on BARDA’s website says that Industry Day has been canceled and to stay tuned for a new date.
  • A spokesperson for HHS declined to comment.
  • The agency has been under enhanced scrutiny in the new Trump administration, particularly the multibillion-dollar effort created in the Biden administration to develop next-generation Covid-19 products and vaccines, an initiative dubbed Project NextGen.
  • https://endpts.com/barda-cancels-annual-industry-day/

Trump tariffs would increase costs for almost every biopharma company, survey claims

  • The Biotechnology Innovation Organization, or BIO, conducted the survey last month. It included 42 companies, almost half of which were large companies with revenue of more than $1 billion.
  • Of every company polled, 94% said that tariffs on products from the European Union would increase manufacturing costs. Tariffs on imports from Canada would increase costs for 82% of companies polled, and tariffs on imports from China would spur cost increases for 70% of companies.
  • Half of the companies polled said that tariffs on the European Union would force them to find new research and manufacturing partners. Half also said that they’d have to rework regulatory filings. More than 50% of companies expect “increased difficulty” in funding and conducting research if European tariffs are put in place.
  • The survey also found that 80% of companies would need at least a year to find new suppliers, and 44% said it would need more than two years, well into Trump’s time in office.
  • https://endpts.com/trump-tariffs-would-increase-biopharma-costs-industry-survey/

J&J Joins Pharma Peers With $55B US Manufacturing Boost Following Trump’s Tariff Threats

  • Johnson & Johnson followed in the footsteps of Eli Lilly Friday, announcing a massive $55 billion manufacturing and R&D investment over the next four years.
  • The healthcare giant will boost its U.S. investment by 25% compared to the previous four years, according to a its news release. The announcement coincides with the groundbreaking of a manufacturing site in North Carolina, CEO Joaquin Duato said in a statement.
  • The investment will also include three new manufacturing facilities and the expansion of existing sites for J&J’s medicines and medtech business. No additional information was provided on the sites. J&J vowed to boost R&D infrastructure to find treatments for indications in oncology, neuroscience, immunology, cardiovascular disease, along with robotic surgery.
  • https://www.biospace.com/business/j-j-joins-pharma-peers-with-55b-us-manufacturing-boost-following-trumps-tariff-threats

KEY DIAGNOSTICS – LIFE SCIENCE RESEARCH NEWS

CAP Hill Day Policy Agenda Announced

  • CAP: College of American Pathologists
  • Four key policy issues will top the list of priorities that the CAP will raise when members go to Capitol Hill on April 29.
  • Mary Le, MD, FCAP, is Chair of the CAP Federal and State Affairs Committee. During this podcast episode, Dr. Le previewed what CAP members will discuss with representatives and senators next month.
  • Editorial Note: for those who don’t want to listen to the podcast, the four prioritized by Dr. Le include: Medicare Payment Reform, Addressing the FDA Rule on Laboratory-Developed Tests (LDTs), Support for the Conrad 30 Waiver Program, the process of Local Coverage Determination (LCD).
  • The CAP’s Hill Day is the final day of the House of Delegates and Pathologists Leadership Summit in April, where pathologists will go up to Capitol Hill to ask their members of Congress to support several health care issues important to the specialty.
  • https://www.cap.org/advocacy/latest-news-and-practice-data/march-25-2025

KEY MEDTECH NEWS

How Tariffs Are Rocking The 'Bubblegum And Shoestring' Medical Supply Chain

  • Supply chains were not a major manufacturing issue in the medical devices industry before 2020. Now, it's a concern in the C-suite, Dave Evans, chief executive of Fictiv, told Investor's Business Daily.
  • This year, President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada have rocked Wall Street and medical stocks are no exemption. Since late January, IBD's Medical-Products industry group has fallen 15%.
  • "Tariffs are a part of this, but I actually think it's the broader ecosystem of how fragile supply chains have been for decades," Evans said. "Tariffs, pandemic (and) geopolitical have exposed the fragility of really the system that's held together with bubblegum and shoestring."
  • Medical device companies are taking a "wait-and-see" approach to tariffs, says BTIG analyst Marie Thibault.
  • There's still a lot unknown about the tariffs. It's possible medical devices — and the components to make them — could be exempt. Alternatively, Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar said some products move multiple times between the U.S. and Mexico, which could result in stacked-up tariffs.
  • Trump's most recent tariffs include an additional 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada. Imports from China will face a 10% additional tariff.
  • Kumar said Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Becton Dickinson (BDX) are exposed to the tariffs on Mexico. Illumina (ILMN), Exact Sciences (EXAS), Mesa Laboratories (MLAB), Revvity (RVTY), Waters (WAT), Stryker (SYK), Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) and Hologic (HOLX) have noted a "minimal" impact due to tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.
  • https://www.investors.com/news/technology/medical-stocks-supply-chain-tariffs/

CURRENT APPOINTEE STATUS

 https://ourpublicservice.org/performance-measures/political-appointee-tracker/

Updated March 27, at 11 AM EST.

KEY ACRONYMS

  • ACF = Administration for Children and Families
  • ADRCs = Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers
  • AHRQ = Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • ARPA-H = Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health
  • ASPE = Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
  • BARDA = Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
  • CMS = Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • DAB = Departmental Appeals Board
  • DOGE = Department of Government Efficiency
  • EO = Executive Order
  • FDA = Food and Drug Administration
  • HHS = Department of Health and Human Services
  • NIH = National Institutes of Health
  • OCR = Office for Civil Rights
  • OLC = Office of Long Covid Research and Practice
  • OMHA = Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals
  • PBMs = Pharmacy Benefit Managers
  • SAMHSA = Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  • USAID = U.S. Agency for International Development

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