Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is urging Congress to double the funding for the National Institutes of Health.
In a New York Times op-ed, Gingrich argued that fiscal conservatives need make funding for medical research a priority, despite distrust of the federal government on the issue.
“As a conservative myself, I’m often skeptical of government ‘investments.’ But when it comes to breakthroughs that could cure — not just treat — the most expensive diseases, government is unique,” he wrote Wednesday.
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He pointed out that with healthcare spending continuing to rise extremely, it makes more sense to think long-term and focus more funds on NIH research. “It’s irresponsible and shortsighted, not prudent, to let financing for basic research dwindle,” he wrote.
For example, the total cost of care for Alzheimer’s and other dementia is expected to exceed $20 trillion over the next four decades — including a 420 percent increase in costs to Medicare and a 330 percent increase in costs to Medicaid. Even without a cure, the premium on breakthrough research is high: Delaying the average onset of the disease by just five years would reduce the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s in 2050 by 42 percent, and cut costs by a third. And that’s not even counting the human toll on both patients and caregivers (often family members), whose own health may deteriorate because of stress and depression.
House and Senate Republicans are currently meeting to complete a joint budget proposal, which should be reached by next week. Their current proposal doesn’t increase the NIH’s $30 billion budget all. President Obama’s proposal would bump up funding by an additional $1 billion.
Gingrich has been a long-time advocate for the NIH since he served as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999 when he helped protect the government’s scientific research budget.
“By funding basic medical research, Congress can transform our fiscal health, and our personal health, too,” he wrote.
