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The White House just proposed the biggest HHS cut in recent memory.
$15.8 billion slashed from HHS in the FY 2027 budget proposal released April 3rd.
That’s a 12.5% reduction from current funding levels.
Here’s what healthcare leaders need to know:
NIH loses $5 billion. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities? Gone entirely. Labeled as “replete with DEI expenditures” in budget documents.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) gets gutted by $129 million, deemed “wasteful or duplicative.” They’ve already lost over 50% of their staff since September.
Meanwhile, HHS staffing drops to 70% of pre-COVID levels, supposedly saving $3.1 billion annually through “centralized administration.”
But wait, there’s more.
The budget proposes creating an entirely new agency: the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). It would consolidate primary care, maternal health, mental health, substance use, and chronic disease prevention with $14 billion in discretionary funding.
Sound familiar? This exact reorganization failed to pass last year.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Public health metrics are deteriorating. Healthcare workforce shortages persist. And we’re cutting the very research infrastructure that drives medical innovation?
💡 Here’s what’s actually happening:
This is a values statement disguised as a budget. Defense spending increases while healthcare gets cut. Research on health disparities gets eliminated while health inequities widen.
The silver lining? Congress rarely approves presidential budget requests as written. Last year’s FY 2026 budget asked for less, Congress gave HHS $116.8 billion anyway.
But the message is clear: Healthcare isn’t the priority it once was.
For healthcare executives, this signals potential downstream impacts on grant funding, research partnerships, and federal program support. Start planning contingencies now.
The question isn’t whether these cuts will happen exactly as proposed.
It’s what this signals about healthcare’s place in national priorities.
♻️ Repost if healthcare deserves investment, not cuts.
👉 Follow me, Jonathan Govette, for daily, real-time updates on healthcare technology and business news. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangovette/
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Author:
Jonathan Govette is a seasoned healthcare and technology executive with more than two decades of experience building, scaling, and advising digital health companies. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oatmeal Health, an AI-driven Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnostics company focused on expanding access to early detection for underrepresented populations, particularly patients served by Federally Qualified Health Centers and value-based health plans.
With a background in engineering, product development, and strategic partnerships, Jonathan has founded and led multiple health technology ventures across clinical care delivery, regulated medical software, and AI-enabled diagnostics. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, technology, and health equity, with a consistent focus on translating complex clinical problems into scalable, real-world solutions.
Jonathan has spent much of his professional life dedicated to improving outcomes for marginalized and underserved communities. He has designed and implemented frameworks that align clinical quality, reimbursement, and technology to sustainably advance health equity at scale. This mission is deeply personal and informs his leadership philosophy and long-term vision for healthcare transformation.
In addition to his operating experience, Jonathan is an author and long-time writer in the healthcare domain, with over 20 years of published work covering digital health, medical innovation, and healthcare systems. He is a frequent mentor to early-stage founders and regularly advises startups on product strategy, partnerships, and go-to-market execution in regulated healthcare environments.
Before entering industry full-time, Jonathan nearly pursued a career in medicine with an early path toward cardiothoracic surgery, an experience that continues to shape his clinical perspective and respect for frontline care delivery.
CEO | Oatmeal Health | AI Lung Cancer Startup | Engineer | Writer | Almost Became a Doctor (Cardiac Thoracic Surgeon) | 3x Health Tech Founder | Startup Mentor | Follow to share what I’ve learned along the way.
