Trump Admin Buries Science and Healthcare in Paperwork — SkimNews
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- NIH now uses a computer tool to scan grants for prohibited terms, requiring mid-grant revisions and adding to administrative tasks that already consumed 40% of scientists' time before 2025
- NIH grant funding dropped 25% compared to 2021-2024 by the end of June, and the chance of being awarded a new NIH grant has fallen to 13%
- The Office of Management and Budget proposed a rule for political appointees to review all federal grants before awarding them, superseding peer review; a Senate bill blocked implementation until at least Dec. 11
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act imposes Medicaid changes effective Jan. 1 — twice-yearly renewals, 80-hours/month community engagement requirements, removal of certain immigrants — and the 'medically frail' exemption process is already in litigation
- Medicaid work requirement implementation carries steep administrative costs: Georgia spent $40 million in 2023 (80% administrative), and a 2019 GAO model estimated Kentucky would need $271 million in additional administrative costs
- SNAP paperwork changes under OBBA have already dropped more than 440,000 people from Arizona's program, even though most still qualify for assistance
- The federal 'time tax' — 10,503 million hours of paperwork in 2023 — already costs an estimated $140 billion annually in unclaimed benefits, costs the authors argue will deepen
Why it matters: Missing a Medicaid renewal form could mean a cancer patient loses treatment, and NIH grant funding has already dropped 25% as the award rate fell to 13%. The authors estimate Medicaid cuts will reduce GDP by $154 billion by 2029, and every $1 cut to SNAP costs families $14-20 — costs the administration's tax-cut focus ignores.
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