Blog | 7/11/2025

Trump Administration Healthcare News: July 11, 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 July 10, 2025. The details and broad themes may have changed.

KEY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NEWS

Medical organizations sue RFK Jr., HHS over vaccine policies

  • A group of medical organizations is suing Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other health leaders in the Trump administration over the decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines to healthy children and pregnant women.
  • Plaintiffs include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Public Health Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
  • https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5387974-medical-organizations-sue-rfk-jr-hhs-vaccine-policies/

RFK Jr. postpones Obamacare coverage panel meeting

  • The Health and Human Services Immediate Office of the Secretary sent a letter on Monday to task force members and partners announcing that the July task force meeting is postponed and that HHS looks forward to engaging with the task force to promote health and well-being in the future, a source familiar told Axios.
  • The panel's recommendations give about 150 million people with private health coverage access to no-cost cancer screenings, counseling and other services.
  • The Supreme Court last month upheld the structure of the task force in a case surrounding coverage of HIV prevention drugs, ruling that its members are accountable to the HHS secretary, who has the power to remove and replace members at will.
  • https://www.axios.com/2025/07/09/rfk-jr-hhs-aca-uspstf-meeting

Senate committee advances Trump's pick for CDC director ahead of confirmation vote

  • The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted to advance Susan Monarez's nomination as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday.
  • The panel voted along party lines 12-11.
  • Monarez is the first CDC director nominee to require a Senate confirmation after Congress passed a law requiring it in 2022.
  • If confirmed, Monarez will be the first CDC director without a medical degree since 1953.
  • https://abcnews.go.com/US/senate-committee-advances-trumps-pick-cdc-director-ahead/story?id=123606557

CDC data chief announces departure from agency

  • Alan Sim, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s chief data officer, announced his departure from the agency after nearly five years in the position, per a post he wrote on social media Monday. 
  • Sim took on the role of chief data officer in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and over the years has been a leader on initiatives such as the agency’s generative AI projects. Reflecting on his time, Sim pointed to several “firsts” the agency achieved, including launching its enterprise data catalog and using data and cloud technologies to improve emergency response. 
  • It is unclear who the acting CDO is in his absence. Both Sim and the Department of Health and Human Services, which manages an email form for press inquiries to the agency, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
  • https://fedscoop.com/cdc-data-chief-announces-departure-from-agency/

US NIH to cap publisher fees for federally funded research by 2026

  • The U.S. National Institutes of Health said on Tuesday it plans to implement a policy that caps how much publishers can charge NIH-supported scientists to make their research publicly accessible.
  • The policy, set to come into effect in fiscal year 2026, will limit allowable publication costs within NIH-funded grant budgets to curb excessive article processing charges (APCs), often required by journals to make research freely accessible, the agency said.
  • Some major publishers charge thousands of dollars per article for immediate open access while also collecting substantial subscription fees from government agencies straining grant budgets and limiting accessibility, NIH said.
  • "This reform will make science accessible not only to the public but also to the broader scientific community, while ending perverse incentives that don't benefit taxpayers," NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said.
  • The agency said the exact cap will be announced later this year.
  • The move follows a 2022 White House directive requiring all federally funded research to be made publicly available immediately upon publication.
  • https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-nih-cap-publisher-fees-federally-funded-research-by-2026-2025-07-08/

NIDDK Director Fields Questions About Cuts During Senate Committee Hearing

  • During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, senators questioned Griffin Rodgers, MD, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), about recent NIH funding cuts.
  • Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) expressed concern over how the NIH could fund grants in the future, pointing to a proposal that would give more grant recipients their money up front, which she said would dramatically reduce the number of grants NIH is able to fund.
  • "How will diabetes research be affected if NIDDK awards 40% fewer grants this year than last year," Baldwin asked Rodgers, "and what will that mean for patients with type 1 diabetes who are anxiously waiting for a cure?"
  • "We are doing our best to spend all of the money that Congress has provided to us, and I would note that the budget for the Special Diabetes Program is extended in the president's budget," Rodgers said.
  • "We're really on the cusp of some major breakthroughs," Rodgers responded, "especially related to cellular therapies and finding a biological cure." The hearing was focused on type 1 diabetes.
  • https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/116440

HHS devises legal playbook for future grant terminations, internal memo shows

  • As the National Institutes of Health recently paused its campaign to terminate billions of dollars in grants, its parent agency was starting to lay out a more cautious and legally rigorous strategy for canceling research deemed out of step with Trump administration priorities, an internal memo shows.
  • Guidance from the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services, obtained by STAT, outlines a new legal advisory process and advice to staffers on the justifications for terminations that could make them less susceptible to court challenges.
  • The guidance comes amid several legal defeats the agency has faced as a result of the grant terminations. In June, federal Judge William G. Young ruled in two lawsuits that some NIH grant terminations were “void and illegal.” In another suit, referenced in the guidance, HHS was prohibited from canceling $11 billion in public health funding for 23 states and the District of Columbia, which sued the administration.
  • https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/06/hhs-nih-grant-terminations-legal-guidance-internal-memo/

HHS Is Quietly Looking for Two New Vaccines

  • The Department of Health and Human Services last month quietly announced its intention to fund the development of vaccines against two viruses it considers “material threats to national health security.”
  • It’s a sign that even as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fires the country’s top vaccine committee and backs cuts to infectious disease research, the department is still aware of the dangers a hobbled public health infrastructure would pose to U.S. biosecurity.
  • The pre-solicitation notice for the two vaccines was posted to a government contracting website on June 27. It came from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, an HHS center that partners with the biomedical industry to develop bioterrorism countermeasures.
  • https://www.notus.org/health-science/hhs-kennedy-vaccine-request

HHS and DOJ Announce False Claims Act Joint Working Group and Identify Enforcement Priorities

  • The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 2 their formation of a False Claims Act Working Group.
  • The following six areas have been designated as priority enforcement areas:
    • Medicare Advantage
    • Drug, device or biologics pricing, including arrangements for discounts, rebates, service fees, and formulary placement and price reporting
    • Barriers to patient access to care, including violations of network adequacy requirements
    • Kickbacks related to drugs, medical devices, durable medical equipment, and other products paid for by federal healthcare programs
    • Materially defective medical devices that impact patient safety
    • Manipulation of Electronic Health Records systems to drive inappropriate utilization of Medicare covered products and services.
  • Press: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/hhs-and-doj-announce-false-claims-act-6369572/
  • Announcement: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/doj-hhs-false-claims-act-working-group

ARPA-H Launches Program to Restore Brain Function and Return Patients to Independence

  • The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today unveiled its groundbreaking Functional Repair of Neocortical Tissue (FRONT) program, a transformative initiative to restore brain function and position the U.S. as the global leader in brain repair technology.
  • The FRONT program supports several key priorities, including:
  • Combating Chronic Disease: FRONT will work to develop a curative therapy for over 20 million U.S. adults suffering from chronic neocortical brain damage caused by stroke, neurodegeneration, and trauma, providing life-changing treatments for these individuals.
  • Economic Growth and Innovation: By working to restore brain function, FRONT is projected to save the U.S. economy an estimated $800 billion annually, while recovering lost taxable income from individuals currently unable to contribute due to severe brain damage.
  • Veteran and Military Support: FRONT will prioritize the development of effective therapies for traumatic brain injuries, a leading cause of disability among military personnel. This initiative will provide direct support to our nation’s servicemen and women, ensuring they receive the care they deserve for their sacrifice.
  • Societal Impact: FRONT moves beyond costly, limited therapies like physical and speech rehabilitation, aiming to restore vital brain functions. This program will provide new hope to millions who have suffered severe brain damage and now rely on caregivers for daily living.
  • https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/arpa-h-launches-program-to-restore-brain-function-patient-independence.html

KEY REVERSALS – RESCINDED ITEMS

HHS rescinds undocumented immigrant access to federal health benefits

  • The Department of Health and Human Services has rescinded a policy from 1998 that gave undocumented immigrants access to certain federal health benefits, such as Head Start and mental health programs.
  • https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/hhs-rescinds-undocumented-immigrant-access-federal-health-benefits

Supreme Court clears the way for Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce

  • The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.
  • The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency.
  • The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions.
  • Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.
  • https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-mass-firings-151e14da3186d34eab1923c45831c1b6

HHS backtracks on pledge to disclose new vaccine advisers’ conflicts of interest

  • Agency officials previously said they would release ethics forms for seven new members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices before the group’s first meeting in late June. That deadline came and went.
  • The lack of information on new ACIP appointees stands in stark contrast to the detailed conflict-of-interest database for prior panelists that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. added to the agency’s website. The searchable page, filed under the “Radical Transparency” section, was created just a few weeks into his tenure.
  • https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/09/kennedy-conflict-of-interest-radical-transparency-acip-vaccine-experts/  (subscription required for full text)  

Judge: HHS removal of online health guidelines was illegal

  • A federal judge Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore certain health data pages hosted on Department of Health and Human Services websites, siding with a left-leaning doctors group that the move was illegal.
  • The opinion vacates the Office of Personnel Management and HHS guidances that led to the removal of information from CDC guidelines on prescribing HIV preventive medication to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey on student health. The pages were taken down as part of a department review to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order on “gender ideology and extremism.”
  • U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, said the agencies acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in implementing “sweeping and poorly thought-through directives” without notice and public comment.
  • “An executive order can do a lot, but it does not absolve agencies of their obligations to follow the law,” Bates said in his ruling.
  • https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025/07/judge-hhs-removal-of-online-health-guidelines-was-illegal-00439022   (subscription required for full text)

KEY BIOPHARMA NEWS

Trump floats 200 percent tariffs on pharmaceutical imports ‘very soon’

FDA publishes rejection letters sent to drugmakers, with a big caveat

  • The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday published more than 200 letters that it sent to companies when it rejected their medicines, focusing attention on what’s often an opaque part of the drug review process.
  • The agency only highlighted letters that went to drugmakers whose products were eventually approved, documents that have already been made public over the years. But by compiling all the letters into one place, the agency said the move was part of a broader campaign aimed at improved transparency. Some portions of the letters, which cover decisions made from 2020 to 2024, were redacted to safeguard private business details.
  • While the letters released Thursday peel back the curtain on some decisions, there would be even greater interest in what’s called complete response letters, or CRLs, for products that were never approved — documents that have traditionally not been released.
  • https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/10/fda-publishes-drug-rejection-letters-marty-makary-transparency-effort/   (subscription required for full text)

FDA, NIH officials look to curb animal testing in drug development

  • During a joint workshop on Monday, officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) outlined efforts to reduce animal testing.
  • FDA Commissioner Marty Makary opened the meeting stating the agency is committed to exploring non-animal models and stressed that reducing animal testing is one of the agency’s biggest goals.
  • Haleh Saber, the division director of hematology, oncology, and toxicology at CDER, stated that “We are committed to reducing the use of animals in oncology drug development testing. We have successfully reduced animal testing, and new approaches are now being submitted on a voluntary basis.”
  • During the workshop, an NIH official announced that it will no longer fund proposals that rely exclusively on animal testing for drug development. Instead, applicants are encouraged to incorporate NAMs to assess the safety and efficacy of new drug treatments.
  • https://www.raps.org/News-and-Articles/News-Articles/2025/7/FDA-NIH-officials-look-to-curb-animal-testing-in

Justice Department issues subpoenas to clinics and drugmakers over gender-affirming care

  • The Department of Justice has issued “nearly 20 subpoenas” to clinics that provide gender-affirming care in relation to “transition-related investigations,” DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle said at an event held by the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday. The department has also issued subpoenas to major manufacturers of “the drugs used in trans-related medical interventions” in relation to investigations around drug marketing laws and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Mizelle added.
  • The announcement is the latest Trump administration move to target providers of gender-affirming care. In June, the FBI requested tips from the public on clinics that provide this care, and in May, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent letters to nine hospitals requesting information about their protocols. The actions follow the executive order President Trump issued one week into his presidency that directed the withholding of federal funds from any hospital that provides gender-affirming care to people under age 19.
  • Separately, the Supreme Court last month ruled to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

KEY DIAGNOSTICS – LIFE SCIENCE RESEARCH NEWS

How Will Medicaid Cuts Disrupt Clinical Lab Reimbursements?

  • On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping domestic policy package into law, enacting $880 billion in Medicaid cuts over five years.
  • The law introduces fundamental changes to Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and funding, placing new financial pressures on hospitals, clinics, and laboratories that serve low-income populations. Clinical labs that rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements are especially vulnerable.
  • For clinical labs, the impacts of Medicaid restructuring fall into three main categories: reduced Medicaid enrollment, decreased federal funding, and changes to patient cost-sharing requirements.
  • State-level responses will also play a critical role, as each adjusts to the new limits on federal Medicaid support. Labs that operate across state lines should track policy shifts in each jurisdiction and align with health system partners to understand changes in coverage and reimbursement.
  • https://www.clinicallab.com/how-will-medicaid-cuts-disrupt-clinical-lab-reimbursements-28339

KEY HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (HIT) NEWS

Congress allows first-dollar telehealth coverage for high deductible health plans in reconciliation bill

  • Congress has made permanent a pandemic-era telehealth provision for millions of Americans with high-deductible health plans.
  • In its massive tax package signed into law on July 4, Congress included a last-minute provision to allow employer-sponsored health plans to offer covered telehealth services before employees meet their deductibles.
  • In 2023, 41.7% of commercially-insured Americans had high-deductible health plans linked to health savings accounts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These roughly 35 million Americans can now access covered telehealth services before they meet their deductible and still be eligible for their health savings accounts.
  • Under high deductible health plans, patients typically have to pay out of pocket for healthcare services until they meet their deductible, with an exception for preventive care services.
  • Now, employers will be able to offer digital healthcare services to their employees for little to no out-of-pocket cost. The telehealth safe harbor policy also allows employers to waive copays for digital health.
  • The telehealth safe harbor policy in reconciliation applies to all plan years beginning after December 31, 2024.
  • https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/congress-allows-first-dollar-telehealth-coverage-high-deductible-health-plans

KEY ACRONYMS

  • ARPA-H = Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health
  • CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • CMS = Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • DOJ = Department of Justice
  • FDA = Food and Drug Administration
  • HELP = Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
  • HHS = Department of Health and Human Services
  • NAMS = non-animal models
  • NIH = National Institutes of Health
  • NIDDK = National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
  • PRWORA = Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

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