By Richard Klass
In fiscal year 2024, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget was $47 billion; approximately 83% went “to more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,5000 universities, medical schools, and other research institutions.”1
- The top ten recipients received over $600 million from the NIH.
NIH successes are diverse from advancing understanding of disease morphology, to new clinical treatments and prevention applications.
Jaime Caldwell, President of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association, believes “investing in NIH research is not just funding science; it is funding hope, innovation, and the future of public health. Universities and hospitals in South Florida are actively involved in the discovery of needed healthcare treatments and cures. Cutting these grants means cutting the lifeline of discoveries that save lives.”
Exemplifying the value of the organization and the investment of taxpayer dollars:
- The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and test kits. “A Commonwealth Fund study estimates that, through November 2022, COVID-19 vaccines prevented more than 18.5 million US hospitalizations and 3.2 million deaths and saved the country $1.15 trillion.”2
- NIH funded studies in cancer research and treatment is instrumental in the 33% drop in the cancer death rate, saving an estimated 4.1 million lives from 1991 to 2021.3
The level of future financial support from NIH is uncertain and could plumet under current national policy leadership. The potential adverse result: elimination of research targeting advanced therapeutics and the loss of top scientific talent from leading academic medical centers and biotechnology organizations.
At peril is research into such advanced technologies as gene therapy and gene editing. Without NIH funding, transformative and potentially curative treatment pathways for difficult-to-treat disorders may evaporate.
Impact on Florida
National Institute of Health (NIH) grants for Florida entities totaled $869 million in 2024.4 Overall, sixty-seven entities received NIH funding.
- The University of Florida ($267M) and the University of Miami ($192M) account for over 50% of the total NIH allocation.
- Grants to South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach counties) entities exceeded $252M.
– Eleven entities received over $600,000. (See the following table.)
Richard Klass, President, 2CY, Inc., can be reached at rklass@2cy4u.com.
1 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, budget.
2 Meagan C. Fitzpatrick et al., “Two Years of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccines Have Prevented Millions of Hospitalizations and Deaths,” To the Point (blog), Commonwealth Fund, Dec. 13, 2022.
3 American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures, 2024
4 NIH RePort, Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools
