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Experts, lawmakers blast RFK Jr. for destroying healthcare research
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Experts are sounding the alarm that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the federal body responsible for improving America's healthcare system, is on the brink of collapse. In an opinion piece published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, health policy experts Aaron Carroll and David Atkins argue that the agency's survival under the second Trump administration is an open question. The administration has cut AHRQ's staff by 75 percent, canceled its grants en masse, and refused to spend tens of millions of dollars appropriated by Congress.
AHRQ has focused on patient safety, healthcare quality, care delivery, and new technologies since the 1990s. Historically, Republican leaders recognized that healthcare disparities were fundamental quality problems, according to Carroll and Atkins. However, disparities in care have recently become partisan issues, leaving the agency vulnerable to political attacks.
The numbers are stark. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts led to the firing or retirement of approximately 75 percent of AHRQ's staff. In July, the agency sent grant cancellation letters to about 150 researchers, and more than 100 research grants collectively worth over $250 million have been canceled. Although Congress appropriated $345 million for fiscal year 2026, only $15 million has been spent on grants so far, with the remainder unspent.
Scientists across more than 30 states have halted their research, laid off staff, shut down programs, and stopped pursuing new lines of inquiry due to the funding freeze. This disruption threatens to erase years of progress in understanding how to deliver safer, more effective care at lower costs. The loss of data and research findings compounds the damage, according to the experts.
Carroll and Atkins express profound concern over the broader impact on the scientific community. "This is what it looks like when we stop developing the next generation of health services researchers," they write, lamenting the loss of young researchers who will not receive training. The experts argue that reversing the damage is possible but difficult, requiring immediate and sustained congressional action.
Congress must step in to restore funding and rebuild AHRQ's capacity, they urge. Without intervention, the agency may not survive, leaving the nation without a dedicated institution to study healthcare quality improvements. The future of evidence-based healthcare reform in the United States hangs in the balance.
