OB-GYN group won't take federal funds over Trump policies
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The leading professional association for gynecologists is cutting financial ties with the federal government, citing Trump administration policies it says prevent it from providing evidence-based guidance.
Why it matters: The decision by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists appears to be the first time a medical society has divested itself over conditions the administration has placed on government contractors and grant recipients.
- Professional medical groups routinely contract with the federal health agencies to administer or contribute to public health initiatives. ACOG has about 60,000 members and lists diversity and equity among its core values.
State of play: ACOG sent an email to members last week notifying them that it will stop accepting federal funding for current contracts.
- "After careful deliberation, ACOG has made an organization-wide decision to stop accepting federal funding for all ACOG programs and activities for current contracts," the organization said in a statement shared with Axios.
- "Recent changes in federal funding laws and regulations significantly impact ACOG's program goals, policy positions, and ability to provide timely and evidence-based guidance and recommendations for care."
- "We remain fully committed to this critical work and will allocate our own resources to continue it in a way that is centered on patient needs and grounded in evidence."
- The organization will continue to engage with the federal government on policy advocacy, ACOG said.
By the numbers: The ACOG Foundation — the group's 501(c)(3) affiliate — has received $950,000 from Health and Human Services this year to oversee reviews and updates of preventive services guidelines for women, according to an HHS grant-tracking website.
- ACOG wouldn't elaborate on what aspects of the work its decision will affect.
- Other medical societies that contract with the federal government include the American Medical Association, which has received $750,000 from HHS this year, per federal records.
What they're saying: "This is great news for the American taxpayer," HHS communications director Andrew Nixon wrote in an email to Axios. "ACOG taking itself off the federal payroll might be the most responsible budgeting decision they've made."
- HHS will make sure the preventive services guidelines "reflect gold-standard, evidence-based science and in partnership with those who can deliver this guidance in accordance with the law," he said.
Zoom out: ACOG is one of a few medical associations vocally pushing back against President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s health policy shifts.
- Health care during pregnancy has become a flashpoint. Kennedy has removed the recommendation that pregnant people get COVID-19 vaccines, and a recent advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration cast doubt on the safety of antidepressants during pregnancy.
- ACOG said afterward that the composition of the panel was "alarmingly unbalanced" and that there's robust evidence showing the medications are safe during pregnancy.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics has also publicly opposed recent HHS actions. The group boycotted a June meeting of Kennedy's handpicked vaccine advisory committee, saying a June purge of the panel's 17 advisers compromised its credibility.
What to watch: ACOG left the door open to resuming federal contracting work in the future.
- "[W]e will evaluate opportunities to partner with the government in the future where our program goals align," ACOG said in a statement.
