G2G’s Women’s Health Innovation and Policy Insights

The FY24 Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations bill passed the Committee right before the August recess. The total proposed funding is $207.37 billion with NIH receiving $47.5 billion, an increase of $2.5 billion. The House version was not passed by committee and details within the bill's report remain undisclosed. However, the total funding proposed in the House bill is $147 billion, which is $60.3 billion (29%) below the FY23 enacted level, and funds NIH with $43 billion, $3.8 billion less than FY23. The House and Senate will have to negotiate a compromise in the fall.

Senate LHHS Highlights include:

• Women’s Health Research Study — Secretary will provide a report in 18 months on findings and recommendations following coordination with NIH and NASEM on the proportion of research on conditions that are more common or unique to women across the lifespan, evaluation of sex and gender differences and racial health disparities, and determination of the appropriate level of funding that is needed to address gaps in women’s health research at NIH.
• Diversity — Committee recommends that NIH fund or conduct Black/African American-, Latino/Hispanic- and women-only research studies to better understand the underlying etiology of cognitive impairment and dementia in these groups that have disproportionately higher prevalence of the disease.
• Women’s Health Clinical Research Network —Directs NIH to expand and more formally coordinate its support women’s health clinical research by leveraging the CTSA program run by NCATS, directing evaluation on how to better promote research and collaborations that address the distinctive medical and health needs of women and advance the dissemination and implementation of research results. An update on these activities will be due within 120 days of enactment.
• Office of Research on Women's Health — Provides $7M, an increase of $2M above FY23 enacted level, to expand the BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health) program.
• Maternal Mortality — Provides $11M for screening and treatment within the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders program and directs HRSA to fund grants to train professionals to screen, assess, and treat for maternal depression in women who are pregnant or given birth within 12 months.
• Endometriosis — Encourages NIH to advance research to increase earlier detection, develop more accurate diagnostics and for education to inform healthcare providers and their patients regarding diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse — NICHD will convene a workshop to assess peripartum, intrapartum, and postpartum preventative strategies for POP including ways to decrease pelvic floor trauma/denervation during delivery, with the goal of reducing the risk of subsequent POP and its complications.