Health Care Week in Review | House and Senate Agree to Budget Resolution; CMS Releases Inpatient and Post-Acute Payment Proposed Rules

Below is Alston & Bird’s Health Care Week in Review, which provides a synopsis of the latest news in health care regulations, notices, and guidance; federal legislation and congressional committee action; reports, studies, and analyses; and other health policy news.

Week in Review Highlight of the Week:

This week, the House and Senate both agreed to a joint budget resolution, advancing to the next step of the reconciliation process, and CMS released its proposed rules for FY 2026 inpatient and post-acute care payments.

1. Regulations, Notices & Guidance

• On April 7, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Announcement of Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies (CY 2026 Rate Announcement). CMS expects an average increase in revenue of 5.06 percent (over $25 billion) based on policies included in the CY 2026 Rate Announcement and broader trends. The CY 2026 Rate Announcement is available here. The fact sheet is available here. The press release is available here.
• On April 8, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a notice entitled, 21st Century Cures Act: Annual Compilation of Notices of Updates from the Susceptibility Test Interpretive Criteria Web Page; Request for Comments. FDA is announcing the availability of its annual compilation of notices of updates to its Susceptibility Test Interpretive Criteria web page. FDA established the Susceptibility Test Interpretive Criteria web page on December 13, 2017, and since establishment has provided updates to both the format of the web pages and the susceptibility test interpretive criteria identified and recognized by FDA on the web pages. FDA is publishing this notice in accordance with procedures established by the 21st Century Cures Act.
• On April 8, 2025, the FDA released a notice entitled, Withdrawal of Approval of 18 New Drug Applications. FDA is withdrawing approval of 18 new drug applications (NDAs) from multiple applicants. The applicants notified the Agency in writing that the drug products were no longer marketed and requested that the approval of the applications be withdrawn.
• On April 9, 2025, CMS released guidance entitled, Final 2024 Benefit Year Risk Adjustment Updated HHS-Developed Risk Adjustment Model Algorithm “Do It Yourself (DIY)” Software. This guidance outlines the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) risk adjustment methodology, detailing updates on ICD-10 codes, revisions to risk score calculations, and considerations for metal levels and age groups. It provides instructions for implementing the methodology using software tools and simulating risk scores but clarifies that these tools are not mandatory for data submissions.
• On April 10, 2025, the Social Security Administration (SSA) released a notice entitled, Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program. In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a new matching program with the United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Under this matching program, the IRS will disclose IRS to SSA certain return information for the purpose of verifying eligibility for the Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy (LIS) and determines the correct subsidy percentage of benefits provided under the Social Security Act.
• On April 11, 2025, the Executive Office of the President (EOP) published Executive Order (EO) 14259 entitled, Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied To Low-Value Imports from the People's Republic Of China. This EO amends tariffs and duties on low-value imports from China in response to China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. The order builds on previous EOs addressing trade deficits and national security concerns. It modifies the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) to counter China's 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods. Effective April 9, 2025, tariffs on certain imports from China are raised from 34 percent to 84 percent. Tariffs on low-value imports are increased to prevent circumvention: from 30 percent to 90 percent for specific duties. Finally, postal item duties rise incrementally, reaching $150 per item by June 1, 2025. Various U.S. departments and agencies are directed to enforce these changes, ensuring compliance with applicable laws.

Event Notices—NOTE: Due to an HHS communications freeze, many of these meetings may be cancelled or postponed. We are continuing to monitor.

** - New addition

• April 10-11, 2025: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a meeting of the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME). This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.
• April 15-16, 2025: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This is a virtual meeting open to the public.
• April 17, 2025: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a meeting of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Advisory Council. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• April 21, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the Council of Councils. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• April 21, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• April 22, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Aging. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• April 23, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council. This is a virtual meeting open to the public.
• April 23, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• April 24, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council. This is a virtual meeting with one session open to the public.
• April 30, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the Fogarty International Center Advisory Board. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• April 30, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Library of Medicine Board of Scientific Counselors. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• May 5-6, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the Board of Scientific Counselors, National Institute Environmental Health. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• May 5, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• May 5, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research. This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.
• May 6, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• May 8, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council. This is a virtual meeting open to the public.
• May 13, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• **May 13-14, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• May 14, 2025: HRSA announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP). This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.
• May 14, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Aging. This is an in-person meeting with one session open to the public.
• May 22, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• May 28, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• June 3-4, 2025: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a public workshop entitled, Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Generic Drug Science and Research Initiatives Workshop. This is a hybrid workshop open to the public.
• June 5, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• June 6, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the Board of Scientific Counselors Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• June 9, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• June 10, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Cancer Advisory Board. This is a virtual meeting with one session open to the public.
• **June 11, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. This is a virtual meeting open to the public.
• June 13, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Eye Council. This is a hybrid meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• June 17, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council. This is a virtual meeting with some sessions open to the public.
• **July 8, 2025: NIH announced a meeting of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine. The meeting will be held as a virtual meeting and will be open to the public.
• August 6-7, 2025: HRSA announced a meeting of NACNEP. This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.
• August 8, 2025: HRSA announced a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry. This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.
• September 11-12, 2025: HRSA announced a meeting of the COGME. This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.
• December 4-5, 2025: HRSA announced a meeting of NACNEP. This is a hybrid meeting open to the public.

2. Reports, Studies, & Analyses

• On April 9, 2025, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Drug Shortages: HHS Should Implement a Mechanism to Coordinate Its Activities. The GAO examined drug shortages, highlighting contributing factors like supply chain vulnerabilities and economic disincentives to produce less profitable drugs or invest in manufacturing quality. While the FDA addresses shortages, it cannot tackle economic issues affecting the supply chain, which other federal agencies might address. The study analyzed FDA data (2017-2024), reviewed documents, and interviewed stakeholders to explore trends in shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA’s response efforts, and the status of the Supply Chain Resilience and Shortages Coordinator position. GAO recommended that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implement a coordination mechanism for drug shortage activities and collaborate with federal stakeholders, incorporating GAO's best practices for interagency collaboration. However, the coordinator position, established in 2023, is set to end in May 2025 due to funding expiration, leaving HHS without a clear mechanism to address this ongoing public health challenge effectively.
• On April 9, 2025, GAO released a report entitled Federal Real Property: Disposing of Unneeded Facilities Could Help Reduce Maintenance Backlog. The report highlights significant challenges in federal real property management, emphasizing the growing deferred maintenance backlog, which doubled to $370 billion between 2017 and 2024. Agencies have struggled to secure adequate funding and effectively communicate repair needs to Congress, often omitting critical details about costs tied to mission fulfillment. Legislative actions like the 2025 Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies (USE IT) Act and programs like GSA's Space Match aim to address underused properties and optimize building utilization. Efforts to dispose of unneeded buildings, supported by initiatives like The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (FASTA), could alleviate maintenance backlogs, save billions, and reallocate resources to pressing priorities. GAO recommends continued oversight and better planning, such as GSA’s development of a model to project portfolio conditions, while addressing issues like military barracks' poor conditions and outdated office configurations to improve federal property efficiency and safety. Progress is being made, but sustained action remains essential.

3. Hearings & Markups

• On April 8, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing entitled, Assessing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Witnesses included: The Honorable Mark Dybul, MD, Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University Medical Center; Ms. Catherine Connor, JD, Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
• On April 8, 2025, the House Ways and Means Committee, Health Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Lowering Costs for Patients: The Health of the Biosimilar Market. Witnesses included: Dr. Debra Patt, President, Community Oncology Alliance; Dr. Colin Edgerton, Director, Articularis Healthcare Group; Craig Burton, Executive Director, Biosimilars Council; and Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, Professor of Medicine, Harvard University.
• On April 8, 2025, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing entitled, The Power of Work: Expanding Opportunity through SNAP. Witnesses included: Dr. Angela Rachidi, Senior Fellow and Rowe Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; Mr. Sam Schaeffer, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Employment Opportunities; Dr. Diane Schanzenbach, Margaret Walker Alexander Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University; and Mr. David Tidwell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hope Ministries/The Way to Work.
• On April 8, 2025, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a mark-up of 26 bills, including:
  • R. 2483, SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Reps. Guthrie and Pettersen);
  • R. 1520, Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act (Reps. Cammack, Dingell, Issa, and Wasserman Schultz);
  • R. 2319, Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2025 (Reps. Boyle and Fitzpatrick);
  • R. 1669, To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program (Reps. Cohen and Carter of GA);
  • R. 1082, Shandra Eisenga Human Cell and Tissue Product Safety Act (Reps. Moolenaar and Dingell); and
  • R. 2484, Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act (Reps. Harshbarger and Wasserman Schultz).
• On April 8, 2025, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing entitled, The President’s 2025 Trade Policy Agenda. Witnesses included: The Honorable Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President.
• On April 8, 2025, the House Oversight Committee, Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Federal Foreclosure: Reducing the Federal Real Estate Portfolio. Witnesses included: Mr. David Marroni, Acting Director, Physical Infrastructure, Government Accountability Office; Mr. John Hart, Chief Executive Officer, Open the Books.
• On April 8, 2025, the House Armed Services Committee, Cyber, Information Technology, and Innovation Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Final Report of the National Security Commission for Emerging Biotechnology. Witnesses included: Senator Todd Young, Chair, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology; and Dr. Michelle Rozo, Vice Chair, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology.
• On April 9, 2025, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing entitled, The Trump Administration’s 2025 Trade Policy Agenda with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Witnesses included: The Honorable Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President.
• On April 9, 2025, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing entitled, Restoring Trust in FDA: Rooting Out Illicit Products. Witnesses included: Guy Bentley, Director of Consumer Freedom, Reason Foundation; Jonathan Miller, General Counsel at Hemp Roundtable and Partner-in Charge at Frost, Brown, Todd; Richard Williams, Senior Affiliated Scholar, Mercatus Center; Shabbir Imber Safdar, Executive Director, The partnership for Safe Medicines; and Dr. David Kessler, Former Commissioner, U.S Food and Drug Administration.
• On April 9, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Public Witness Day. Witnesses included: Ms. Jessica Pescatore, Clinical Director, Alabama Poison Information Center, America’s Poison Centers; Ms. Jennifer Carrol, Assistant Director, Community Action Partnership of North Alabama; Ms. Michelle Sie Whitten, Executive Director, The Global Down Syndrome Foundation; Mr. Christopher Frech, Co-Chair and Senior Vice President, Alliance for Biosecurity; Mr. Christopher M. Kramer, President, American College of Cardiology; Rey Saldaña, President and CEO, Communities in Schools; Theresa Sokol, LA State Epidemiologist; Board Member, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists; Sara Schapiro, Executive Director, Alliance for Learning Innovation; Dr. Scott Harris, State Health Officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health; President, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; and Dr. Colleen Kelley, Chair, HIV Medicine Association
• On April 9, 2025, the Joint Economic Committee held a hearing entitled, Reducing Waste, Fraud and Abuse Through Innovation: How AI & Data Can Improve Government Efficiency. Witnesses included: Dr. Brian J. Miller, Nonresident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Dr. Sterling Thomas, Chief Scientist, Government Accountability Office; Mr. Neil Chilson, Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute; and Mr. Andrew Cannarsa, Executive Director, Council of the Inspectors General on the Integrity and Efficiency.

4. Other Health Policy News

• On April 10, 2025, the House of Representatives voted 216-214 to approve a compromise budget resolution negotiated between House and Senate leadership. The Senate had previously voted to pass the resolution on April 5, 2025, by a vote of 51-48. After a brief delay is order to address the concerns of a number of Republican holdouts, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) was able to convince most of the hardline conservatives within the Republican conference to approve the measure by offering assurances, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), that the proposed $1.5 trillion in spending cuts effectively would be met.
• The negotiated budget resolution, which was released on April 3, 2025, includes up to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, in addition to an extension of the current tax cuts originally passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It also includes an increase of the debt ceiling by about $5 trillion, which was a significant point of contention among conservative Republicans. Notably, the resolution includes instructions for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to reduce spending under its jurisdiction by $880 billion – this is largely expected to include some form of cuts to the Medicaid program.
• Now that the budget resolution has been agreed to in both chambers, Congress will begin the process of packaging legislative changes into a single reconciliation bill. During this process it will become apparent how Congress plans to try and meet the $1.5 trillion spending cut mark, including what changes to Medicaid policies this may entail.
• On April 11, 2025, CMS released the following Medicare payment rules: Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements; Fiscal Year 2026 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System - Rate Update; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2026 Rates; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for Federal Fiscal Year 2026 and Updates to the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Program; and the Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026.
• The proposed increase in IPPS operating payment rates for general acute care hospitals that successfully participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program and are meaningful electronic health record (EHR) users under the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program is projected to be 2.4 percent. This reflects a projected FY 2026 hospital market basket percentage increase of 3.2 percent, reduced by a 0.8 percentage point productivity adjustment. This also reflects CMS’ proposal to rebase and revise the IPPS operating market basket and IPPS capital market basket to reflect a 2023 base year. Based on the proposed 2023-based IPPS market basket, CMS is also proposing a national labor‑related share of 66 percent.
• In 2020, CMS finalized a temporary budget-neutral policy to address wage index disparities affecting low-wage index hospitals, which includes many rural hospitals. On July 23, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the Secretary lacked authority under section 1886(d)(3)(E) or 1886(d)(5)(I)(ii) of the Social Security Act (Act) to adopt the low wage index hospital policy for FY 2020 and that the policy and related budget neutrality adjustment must be vacated. After considering the appellate court’s decision, CMS proposes to discontinue the low wage index hospital policy for FY 2026 and subsequent years. In addition, CMS proposes to adopt a budget-neutral narrow transitional exception to the calculation of FY 2026 IPPS payments for low-wage index hospitals significantly impacted by the discontinuation of the low-wage index hospital policy. This proposed transitional payment exception would operate similarly to the FY 2025 interim transitional policy established in an interim final action with a comment period (89 FR 80405).
• The full IPPS proposed rule can be viewed here. A fact sheet on the proposed rule can be viewed here.
• For FY 2026, CMS proposes to update the hospice payment rate by 2.4 percent (an estimated increase of $695 million in payments from FY 2025). This results from the proposed 3.2 percent inpatient hospital market basket percentage increase reduced by a proposed 0.8 percentage point productivity adjustment, required by law. The proposed FY 2026 rates for hospices that do not submit the required quality data would reflect the proposed FY 2026 hospice payment update percentage of 2.4 percent minus four percentage points as required by law, which would result in a 1.6 percent reduction over the previous year’s payment rate.
• The full hospice PPS proposed rule can be viewed here. A fact sheet on the proposed rule can be viewed here.
• For FY 2026, CMS is proposing to update the IPF PPS payment rates by 2.4 percent, based on the proposed 2021-based IPF market basket increase of 3.2 percent less a proposed 0.8 percentage point productivity adjustment. CMS is proposing that if more recent data become available (for example, a more recent estimate of the market basket update or productivity adjustment), CMS would use this data, if appropriate, to determine the FY 2026 market basket update percentage increase and the productivity adjustment in the final rule. Additionally, CMS proposes to update the outlier threshold so that estimated outlier payments remain at 2.0 percent of total payments. Total estimated payments to IPFs would increase by 2.4 percent, or $70 million, in FY 2026, relative to IPF payments in FY 2025.
• The full IPF PPS proposed rule can be viewed here. A fact sheet on the proposed rule can be viewed here.
• For FY 2026, CMS proposes to update the IRF PPS payment rates by 2.6 percent based on the proposed IRF market basket percentage increase of 3.4 percent, less a proposed 0.8 percentage point productivity adjustment. CMS is proposing that if more recent data becomes available (e.g., a more recent estimate of the market basket update or productivity adjustment), CMS would use this data, if appropriate, to determine the FY 2026 market basket percentage increase and the productivity adjustment in the final rule. Additionally, CMS proposes to update the outlier threshold to maintain outlier payments at 3.0 percent of total payments. CMS estimates the proposed technical rate setting changes would result in a preliminary estimated increase in IRF payments of $295 million for FY 2026.
• The full IRF PPS proposed rule can be viewed here. A fact sheet on the proposed rule can be viewed here.
• For FY 2026, CMS proposes updating SNF PPS rates by 2.8 percent based on the proposed SNF market basket of 3.0 percent, plus a 0.6 percent market basket forecast error adjustment, and a negative 0.8 percent productivity adjustment. Note that these impact figures do not incorporate the SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) reductions for certain SNFs subject to the net reduction in payments under the SNF VBP. Those adjustments are estimated to total $196.5 million in FY 2025.
• The full SNF PPS proposed rule can be viewed here. A fact sheet on the proposed rule can be viewed here.
• On April 10, 2025, CMS released a statement detailing Administrator Mehmet Oz’s goals for CMS. These goals include, among others:
  • “Moderniz[ing]” Medicare, the Marketplaces, and Medicaid;
  • Promoting personalized health care solutions for Americans, including through price transparency;
  • Reducing unnecessary paperwork for providers while equipping them with better information about their patients and holding them accountable for health outcomes;
  • Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse; and
  • Prioritizing prevention, wellness, and chronic disease management over “sick care.”
• The full press release from CMS can be viewed here.
• On April 9, 2025, OMB released a request for information (RFI) to “[solicit] ideas for deregulation from across the country.” According to the request, “commenters should identify rules to be rescinded and provide detailed reasons for their rescission. OMB invites comments about any and all regulations currently in effect.” OMB also noted that it will not be responding to or addressing individual submissions. Comments are expected to be due by May 11, 2025, and can be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov/ through the “Submit Your Deregulatory Recommendations” portal. The full RFI can be viewed here.
• On April 7, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas struck down the Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting final rule issued by CMS mandating minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. The court ruled that CMS had exceeded the authority granted to it by Congress to regulate the nursing home industry, citing the recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo that limited the ability for Federal agencies to broadly interpret statute when issuing new regulations. The staffing rule, issued by the Biden Administration, was unpopular among many Republican members of Congress – it remains to be seen if the Trump Administration will elect to appeal this ruling.
• The court’s full decision can be read here. The final rule can be viewed here.
• On April 8, 2025, a coalition of academic, medical, and research institutions announced that it would be working to develop a new model for funding indirect research costs, which have come under increasing scrutiny from Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration and are the topic of ongoing litigation as the NIH tries to cap such costs at 15 percent. The coalition includes the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Association of American Universities (AAU), and the Association of Independent Research Institutions (AIRI), among others. Indirect costs are research costs that are not directly attributable to specific research projects, such as the costs of shared facilities, utilities, and administrative and maintenance staff. They are typically negotiated between the institution and the granting agency, such as the NIH, and can range from 30 to 70 percent. The group has yet to issue its proposal, but stated that it “seeks to identify and reduce or eliminate regulatory barriers, produce a simple and easily explained model, and increase transparency…to ensure that taxpayer dollars continue to be used effectively to advance research that benefits all Americans.”
• A press release on this announcement from the AAMC can be viewed here.

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