News Briefs: HHS Proposes a Major Cut to Its Discretionary Budget
-
Apr 18, 2025
HHS has proposed to cut its discretionary budget by one-third from $121 billion to $80 billion, according to a preliminary budget document obtained by the Washington Post on April 16. The Post noted that the 64-page document also outlines “a major shuffling and restructuring of health and human service agencies.” The proposal includes cutting the budget of the National Institutes of Health by about 40% to $27 billion and reducing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget by about 44% to $5.2 billion. It would also eliminate the Head Start program, which provides early child care and education for low-income families, and eliminate numerous initiatives aimed at helping providers in rural areas. The New York Times reported that the cuts deal with discretionary HHS funding and not what the federal government is obligated to spend on Medicare and Medicaid.
The case filed by the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) against UnitedHealth Group’s proposed acquisition of home health care company Amedisys will be settled via mediation. The antitrust lawsuit was first filed in November 2024, alleging that the $3.3 billion deal would eliminate competition between two of the country’s largest providers of home health and hospice services (UnitedHealth’s Optum bought Amedisys rival LHC Group for $5.4 billion in 2023). Attorneys general from Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and New York also joined the complaint. While both firms have offered to divest part of their businesses to address federal regulators’ concerns, those concessions were ultimately not enough to appease the DOJ. Previously, a trial in the case was set to begin Oct. 27, but Judge Susan Gauvey for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on April 10 signed an order to send the case to mediation in August, multiple news outlets reported.
Read more
© 2024 MMIT
The Latest
Meet Our Reporters
Meet Our Reporters
GAIN THERAPEUTIC AREA-SPECIFIC INTEL TO DRIVE ACCESS FOR YOUR BRAND
Sign up for publications to get unmatched business intelligence delivered to your inbox.