Protect CDC funding—Our patients depend on it

Anne R. Bass: ©Anne Bass

As a rheumatologist who has spent my career treating patients with chronic, disabling autoimmune diseases, I write with deep concern about the recent dissolution of several departments at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that support research, surveillance, and patient care in rheumatology.

These funding cuts may not make headlines, but for millions of Americans living with arthritis, lupus, and other rheumatic diseases, their impact is profound and immediate.

Until recently, we had two dedicated annual federal funding streams to specifically support arthritis research: 1. the CDC Arthritis Program and 2. the Department of Defense’s Arthritis Research Program, a component of its Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). In the March budget reconciliation package, the $10 million in annual funding for the Arthritis Research Program was eliminated from the CDMRP.

The future of the CDC Arthritis Program is also uncertain following the closure of the Healthy Aging branch, which oversaw its activity. CDC-sponsored lupus research programs are also at risk because the CDC’s branches that oversee surveillance and minority health research support ceased operation in April.

Let me be clear: there is no private-sector alternative waiting in the wings to pick up this work.

Private research investment in rheumatology typically follows federal funding after viable paths to profit have been identified. Just one example of this are the revolutionary biologic treatments that now help control rheumatoid arthritis and prevent irreversible joint damage. These life-changing treatments are possible thanks to federally funded upstream research that explored questions the private sector would not have otherwise pursued.

Public dollars can be directed to high-risk high-reward projects that private investors can’t—or won’t pursue. And it’s Americans who reap the benefits of that funding.

As a physician who has seen firsthand how scientific innovation improves lives, I shudder to think what these cuts will mean for the future of our country’s health. I’ve seen patients benefit from early diagnosis thanks to CDC-funded public awareness campaigns. Anyone who’s worked in an underserved community can appreciate how epidemiological surveillance has helped shape early intervention and prevention of disease. These are real-world outcomes with real-world impacts.

The decision to cut these programs is more than a budgeting choice—it is a decision that will ripple through clinical care, delay the next generation of therapies, and worsen outcomes for millions of patients.

Recent executive actions compound the threat. In January, an executive order froze postings to the Federal Register, which blocked the ability to hold grant review meetings, effectively halting the use of federal biomedical research awards. The posting restrictions have been loosened, but new timing requirements between posting a grant review meeting and the meeting continue to delay research. Meanwhile, a proposal by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to cap indirect cost reimbursement for grantees at 15% would undermine the research infrastructure at universities and hospitals nationwide. These indirect costs support essential functions like laboratory maintenance, utilities, IT, and administrative staff. Even modest cuts can drastically slow, scale back, or stall research.

On top of this, I have colleagues who are reporting grant freezes and cancellations with little explanation. This uncertainty drives scientists away from research, and sometimes even away from the U.S.—knee-capping a generation of researchers at a time when we cannot afford to lose talented new minds. Scientific research is critical not only for patients, it is also a major source of economic growth. A brain drain away from science today will cripple the economy of our children.

Thankfully, policymakers have the ability to reverse these dangerous cuts—if they can find the will. In the past, federal research funding has been a bipartisan investment in the future that saves lives, creates jobs, strengthens the health of our nation, and ensures our country has access to the most advanced medical innovations possible.

But these gains are fragile and in immediate jeopardy. If we abandon the public infrastructure that supports them, we will feel the consequences for decades to come. We are at a crossroads. I urge our leaders in Washington to choose the path that values science, public health, and a healthy future for our nation. Congress must instead protect funding to the CDC and other vital agencies before more ground is lost.

Anne R. Bass, MD is the Treasurer of The American College of Rheumatology and specializes in the treatment of patients with autoimmune side effects of cancer immunotherapy, and patients with inflammatory arthritis.