Watch: Affected person Numbers at NIH Hospital Tumble After Trump Cuts
Authorities paperwork considered by KFF Well being Information present a drop in sufferers receiving care this yr on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being’s famend analysis hospital, a 200-bed facility at NIH headquarters in Maryland.
We beforehand reported a lower within the variety of sufferers being handled on the NIH Medical Heart from February by April. Since then, we’ve obtained newer information displaying the drop has continued.
As of mid-August, the common every day variety of sufferers handled on the hospital was round 60. There was a gentle drop since February, coinciding with the Trump administration’s mass firings of presidency staff, its broad immigration crackdown, and the gutting of scientific analysis.
Against this, final October, about 80 sufferers a day, on common, had been on the hospital, the paperwork present.
Present and former authorities staff cite a number of causes for the decline. An exodus of clinicians, scientists, and different staffers has restricted the quantity of people that could be handled. Researchers are leaving, which suggests they’re not recruiting sufferers to come back to the NIH for trials.
And, the employees say, it’s possible that fewer sufferers who lack authorized standing within the U.S. are searching for care on the NIH hospital. That’s due to the Trump administration’s immigration insurance policies and the federal authorities’s tighter guidelines for guests from overseas.
In an announcement, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon mentioned the decline within the variety of sufferers “has been ongoing for years” and the scientific heart “stays absolutely operational and continues to offer world-class scientific analysis and affected person care.”
Are you a most cancers affected person whose care on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being Medical Heart in Maryland, or one other hospital, has been affected by the Trump administration’s cuts? Are you a member of the family or caregiver of a most cancers affected person who has acquired care on the NIH? We’d like to listen to about your expertise. Inform us right here.
KFF Well being Information is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points and is without doubt one of the core working applications at KFF—an unbiased supply of well being coverage analysis, polling, and journalism. Study extra about KFF.
USE OUR CONTENT
This story could be republished free of charge (particulars).
We encourage organizations to republish our content material, freed from cost. Right here’s what we ask:
It’s essential to credit score us as the unique writer, with a hyperlink to our kffhealthnews.org website. If potential, please embody the unique writer(s) and KFF Well being Information” within the byline. Please protect the hyperlinks within the story.
It’s necessary to notice, not all the pieces on kffhealthnews.org is on the market for republishing. If a narrative is labeled “All Rights Reserved,” we can’t grant permission to republish that merchandise.
Have questions? Tell us at KHNHelp@kff.org
