Last week, Congress voted to pass a full year continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government through Sept. 30, 2025. The president signed the CR over the weekend, which avoided a government shutdown.
The newest CR keeps the government funded largely at FY24 levels. However, the bill also includes concerning provisions that will severely impact GI patient care and research.
Three major updates from the CR and how AGA is taking a stand for you:
This program funds research for numerous GI cancers and was cut by 57%. These cuts will be devastating to esophageal, liver, pancreas and stomach cancer research.
We are working with our congressional champions and patient advocacy partners to reinstate funding in separate legislation.
This comes after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the Administration from capping indirect costs.
We are concerned about how these changes to NIH’s funding model will threaten the financial stability of GI research and hinder improvements to patient care.
AGA is actively engaging members of Congress in research advocacy efforts:
- We placed questions with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee during the nomination hearing for the new NIH Director. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) asked the nominee questions about the proposal and expressed her opposition to it. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Patty Murray (D-WA) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) are also members of the committee.
- AGA president Dr. Maria Abreu, along with more than 40 other medical organizations, signed on to a letter from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) to oppose the indirect cost cuts and share the letter with the Senate HELP Committee.
- We participated in the Digestive Diseases National Coalition (DDNC) Public Policy Forum where Joseph Feuerstein, MD, participated in congressional meetings with patient advocates and urged legislators to oppose cuts to indirect costs.
- We met with 18 lawmakers’ offices, including Sen. Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to express our opposition to the Administration’s cuts to indirect costs during Debbie’s Dream Foundation (DDF)’s Advocacy Day. DDF is a stomach cancer patient advocacy organization.
While telehealth benefits for seniors were extended through September, Congress has again let GIs down by failing to include a doc fix in the newest government funding bill.
We are disappointed by Congress’ empty promises of a fix to payment cuts, which will have consequences for physicians and Medicare beneficiaries, and we will continue to push for a stand-alone bill that will fix Medicare reimbursement rates.
