More Peril than Promise in President Trump’s Proposed Budget Which Would Endanger the Lives of Millions with Diabetes

Press release

More Peril than Promise in President Trump’s Proposed Budget Which Would Endanger the Lives of Millions with Diabetes

Following the release of President Trump’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2021, Tracey D. Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), issued the following statement:

“Yesterday, the White House announced its FY2021 budget. While we were encouraged to see that the President recommended extending the highly successful Special Diabetes Program (SDP), we ask Congress to go further and provide a long-term renewal for SDP. In addition, far too many other public health and biomedical research programs would be subject to severe cuts under the President’s proposal, putting the health of millions of Americans living with diabetes at risk. We are also deeply concerned by proposed cuts to Medicaid, which could jeopardize health care access from millions of Americans living with diabetes and prediabetes, raising costs and ending access to life-saving care.”

“We are optimistic that the President’s budget proposal does not align with Congress’s demonstrated commitment to fund research and critical public health programs. We look forward to working with Congress to pass appropriations legislation that truly helps those living with diabetes thrive.”

How the President’s proposed budget would impact people with diabetes:

  • The President’s budget would cut the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $3 billion, including a cut of more than $190 million to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the nation’s premier agency conducting research towards better treatments and a cure for diabetes.
  • The proposal would cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including proposing the America’s Health block grant program, which would consolidate important chronic disease programs and provide insufficient funding to combat diabetes and many other chronic diseases.
  • The proposal also includes a cut of $7.3 million to the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP), a successful community-based program helping to prevent or delay diabetes in high-risk individuals.

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About the American Diabetes Association
Every day more than 4,000 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes in America. Nearly 115 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes and are striving to manage their lives while living with the disease. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For nearly 80 years the ADA has been driving discovery and research to treat, manage and prevent diabetes, while working relentlessly for a cure. We help people with diabetes thrive by fighting for their rights and developing programs, advocacy and education designed to improve their quality of life. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).