Dr. David Skorton, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents all the MD-granting accredited medical schools in the country, and about 500 academic health systems teaching hospitals. (Fox News)
"In some cases, more than one agency will develop regulations, and the researchers have to answer to all of those different agency regulations. We should be able to harmonize those things and come out with a more thoughtful approach to reducing some of the regulatory burden," Skorton said. He added that, in turn, researchers will be able to spend more time doing what they do best, research, which in the long run will mean greater results for the public.
"It would also mean that the costs would go down because the additional personnel, the additional things that are necessary to keep track of things for these regulations, that would also go down," Skorton pointed out.
JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ORDER LIMITING ‘INDIRECT’ NIH RESEARCH COSTS AFTER PUBLIC OUTCRY
Skorton said that the impact of reducing over-regulation will be two-fold: it will improve the current research environment and show that there is room for collaboration to reduce overhead costs while not threatening new research. In particular, he pointed to research involving human or animal subjects, which Skorton said is often riddled with regulatory requirements that, while important, could be streamlined.
In fiscal year 2023, the NIH spent around $35 billion across roughly 50,000 grants that went to research institutions, such as universities and hospitals. Of that $35 billion, according to the Trump administration, $9 billion was allocated for "indirect costs" that cover expenses related to depreciation on buildings, equipment, capital improvements, interest on debt associated with certain buildings, and operations and maintenance expenses. (iStock)
Fox News Digital spoke to medical experts who have supported Trump's blanket cut to administrative and facilities costs, and they argue that reducing this price burden on the federal government will increase the availability of new research grants, while getting rid of financial bloat that universities have been able to take advantage of at the taxpayers' expense.
One of the doctors who shared their thoughts, Dr. Erika Schwartz, echoed calls for reform to the current structure, similar to Skorton.
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"While infrastructure support is necessary, there's room for more efficient cost management. A reformed funding model could redirect more resources to direct research activities while maintaining essential support services," Schwartz said. "This could potentially increase the number of funded research projects and accelerate medical breakthroughs, ultimately benefiting patients more directly."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/assoc-american-med-schools-chief-says-over-regulation-partly-blame-wildly-expensive-research-costs