Could AHRQ Really Be Eliminated? And Why Would It Be?

As HCI reported on June 25, “The [U.S.] House Appropriations Committee voted in favor of a bill that would eliminate the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Health Research and Quality, a research agency that has long been disliked by some members of Congress.”

As Associate Editor Rajiv Leventhal wrote in his report, “The appropriations bill, which the House committee approved on Wednesday by a vote of 30-21, must be approved by the full House of Representatives as well as the Senate. In total, the draft bill includes $153 billion in discretionary funding, which is a reduction of $3.7 billion below the fiscal year 2015enacted level and $14.6 billion below the President’s budget request.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate’s budget proposal reportedly includes a cut of at least $100 million in AHRQ’s budget, but does not eliminate the agency altogether.