Lawmakers On Both Sides Dig In Heels Over Drastic Cuts To NIH Funding

The New York Times: Plan To Cut Funding For Biomedical Research Hits Opposition In Congress
A proposal by President Trump to cut federal spending for biomedical research by 18 percent — just months after Congress approved bipartisan legislation to increase such spending — has run into a buzz saw on Capitol Hill, with Republicans and Democrats calling it misguided. (Pear, 4/3)

In other national health care news —

The Associated Press: VA Defending Work To Fix Troubled Veteran Suicide Hotline
The Department of Veterans Affairs is telling skeptical members of Congress that it has fixed problems with its suicide hotline that were highlighted in a critical recent internal watchdog report. A March 20 audit by the VA inspector general had found that nearly a third of calls to the Veterans Crisis Line as recently as November were bounced to back-up centers run by an outside contractor. The rollover calls happen when phone lines are busy, leading to possible waits of 30 minutes or more. (Yen, 4/4)

Stat: Mylan Extends EpiPen Recall To The US And Other Countries
A widespread recall of EpiPen that began last week in several countries has now spread to the United States and parts of Europe, Asia, and North and South America due to a product defect. For the moment, it remains unclear how many allergic-reaction devices are being recalled. The effort, which Mylan described as voluntarily, began earlier this month in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Finland, New Zealand and Japan, where tens of thousands of EpiPens were pulled. (Silverman, 3/31)

The New York Times: The Campaign To Lead The World Health Organization
In May, the World Health Organization will select a new director general, a choice that will affect the health of hundreds of millions in the developing world — perhaps even more if a global pandemic were to emerge. For the first time, the selection will be made by a vote of the W.H.O.’s member nations for candidates who have campaigned openly for the post. (McNeil, 4/3)

The Washington Post: 20 Percent Of Patients With Serious Conditions Are First Misdiagnosed, Study Says
More than 20 percent of patients who sought a second opinion at one of the nation’s premier medical institutions had been misdiagnosed by their primary care providers, according to new research published Tuesday. Twelve percent of the people who asked specialists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to review their cases had received correct diagnoses, the study found. The rest got diagnoses that were partly in line with the conclusions of the Mayo doctors who evaluated their conditions. (Bernstein, 4/4)

Stat: Chiropractors, Naturopaths Lobby For A Bigger Role In Treating Pain
Seizing on the opioid epidemic as a chance to expand their reach, naturopaths and chiropractors are aggressively lobbying Congress and state governments to elevate the role of alternative therapies in treating chronic pain. They’ve scored several victories in recent months, and hope the Trump administration will give them a further boost. Their most powerful argument: We don’t prescribe addictive pain pills. Shunning pharmaceuticals, they treat pain with everything from acupuncture to massage to castor oil ointments. They offer herbal supplements and homeopathic pills. (Thielking, 4/4)

Los Angeles Times: Health Officials Acknowledge Effects Of Utility Leak On Alabama Residents
A chemical leak at a natural gas facility that had long been owned by San Diego-based Sempra Energy has been found to have contributed to the troubled health of residents in a poor Alabama community. The Alabama Department of Public Health announced in a recent press release that the ongoing review of the 2008 leak in Eight Mile, Ala., has determined that the chemical odorant used to detect natural gas leaks is affecting residents in the predominantly African American community of 8,000. (Penn, 4/3)