A Closer Look: NIH Reform Recommendations In Congress

Complications: Health Policy Unraveled

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been under scrutiny since COVID-19, so it is not surprising that members of Congress have released NIH reform initiatives.

In this episode of Complications: Health Policy Unraveled, host Stephanie Kennan provides a summary of NIH reform recommendations, starting with the white paper released by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, which suggests reform priorities around transparency and research grants. Stephanie also breaks down the broader NIH Energy and Commerce Framework released by House Energy and Commerce Chair Kathy McMorris, which recommended comprehensive NIH reform in several areas, including mission and leadership, financial disclosure and transparency requirements, misconduct and expert accountability, and funding and grant reform.

Tune in to learn more about the congressional NIH reform recommendations and why it is important to help shape the conversation about NIH reform even if it is unlikely that reform legislation would pass this year.

Meet Your Host

Name: Stephanie Kennan

Title: Senior Vice President, Federal Public Affairs at McGuireWoods Consulting

Specialty: Stephanie Kennan helps clients navigate the legislative and executive branches of the federal government to solve problems involving a variety of healthcare policy issues. Her work focuses on providers, medical device manufacturers, drug manufacturers and associations concerned about Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

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Episode Highlights

[01:04] The white paper released by Senator Bill Cassidy, the ranking Republican on the Senate HELP Committee, recommends that NIH maintain a balanced research portfolio, streamline the peer review process, address recruiting and biomedical workforce retention problems, and collaborate with public health agencies, healthcare systems, and the private sector.

[01:34] The NIH Energy and Commerce Framework released by House Energy and Commerce Chair Kathy McMorris Rogers is much broader than Senator Cassidy’s white paper and contains far more recommendations and comprehensive reform recommendations.

[02:34] Driving this reform is the narrative that NIH lost public trust because of COVID-19, issues related to gain of function research, and a sense that NIH leadership stays on too long.

[01:58] Representative McMorris Rogers wrote in an op-ed that NIH has granted approval for dangerous experiments with little oversight, and in some instances, has been intentionally deceptive about research paid for with taxpayer dollars.

[03:24] For an agency that once had strong bipartisan support, the NIH now faces “crunch time” to ensure it has funding for projects.

[07:48] Representative McMorris Rogers recommends restoring Congress’ role in directing NIH funding, as well as demanding transparency for indirect costs, preventing waste, and ensuring NIH is accounting for taxpayer dollars spent.

[08:48] The Framework’s section on grants discusses instances of missteps in NIH grant review that have prevented successful research outcomes, and makes lengthy recommendations on grant reform.

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