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Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to medical research, saying that the National Institutes of Health budget is plagued by unnecessary expenses. ... Price also noted that given across-the-board HHS spending cuts, the NIH next year will continue to receive roughly one-third of total department funding. The remarks came a day after reports that the administration had proposed an additional $1.2 billion cut to the NIH for the current fiscal year, on top of a suggested $5.8 billion cut for 2018. The NIH’s 2016 budget totaled $32.3 billion. (Facher, 3/29)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers blasted President Donald Trump's proposed HHS budget cuts on Wednesday, saying patient lives could be at risk if the plan turns into reality. Republicans and Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee's Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee raised grave concerns to HHS Secretary Tom Price during a hearing Wednesday about Trump's proposed 16% cut to HHS' budget. The deep slashes would amount to a $12.6 billion loss to the agency, but there are few specifics about those cuts. Price said the changes would come to light in mid-May, when the full budget is slated for release. (Dickson, 3/29)

After Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said he was “extremely concerned” about the proposed $5.8 billion spending cut (which makes up about 19 percent of the NIH’s discretionary budget), Price responded that it is aimed at increasing efficiency. He noted about 30 percent of the NIH’s grant funding is used for purposes not directly associated with research. (Reid, 3/29)

The House appropriator who oversees the National Institutes of Health’s budget on Wednesday said in a hearing he expects further debate on administrative expenses at universities and other organizations that are funded through federal medical research grants. This could emerge as a flashpoint as Republicans and Democrats tussle over funding for the agency in fiscal 2018 and later years. Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters after a Wednesday hearing that his panel would examine these so-called indirect costs funded by NIH grants. This could open a debate over how much funding for medical research ends up supporting more general expenses at universities such as rent and overhead, a topic that’s concerned lawmakers for years. (Young, 3/29)

George Yancopoulos, the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. co-founder who became a billionaire by turning scientific discoveries into medical treatments, warned that deep cuts to science budgets proposed by President Donald Trump would jeopardize the health of future generations. Failure to invest in biomedical research and basic science undermines the ability of firms to discover new therapies that can change or even save patients’ lives, said Yancopoulos, Regeneron’s president and chief scientific officer, in an interview. Without that investment, he said, bright minds would focus on developing apps and gadgets. (Tracer and Chen, 3/30)

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has made enemies because it takes a hard look at whether popular — and often expensive — treatments like spinal surgery actually help patients. Supporters say it plays a key role in controlling health care costs and ensuring that medical practice is dictated by evidence, not the financial interests of doctors and insurers in a $3.4 trillion industry...But Republicans have long dismissed the agency as duplicative and wasteful. (Ross, 3/30)

Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin says the Department of Veterans Affairs "is on a path toward recovery." "We have a clear mandate to do better, [and] to make sure that we're honoring our mission to serve our veterans," Shulkin told NPR's Morning Edition. (Hersher, 3/30)

In its quest to merge with Cigna Corp., national insurer Anthem has suffered more than a few setbacks. But just days after defending the $54 billion merger in federal appeals court, Anthem finally got some good news. President Donald Trump said he will nominate former Anthem lobbyist Makan Delrahim to the top post in the Justice Department's antitrust division. The nod to Delrahim could be a boon for the Anthem-Cigna merger, which was blocked by a U.S. District Court judge for threatening to harm competition in the national employer market. Indianapolis-based Anthem has been holding out hope that its beleaguered deal will close under a new U.S. Justice Department led by the Trump administration. (Livingston, 3/28)