2007 Investment in Research Trails Health Care Spending Again
Report Estimates U.S. Health Research Funding at $122 Billion
WASHINGTON—December 11, 2008—U.S. funding of medical and health research from government and private sources was approximately $122.4 billion in 2007 according to a new report from Research!America. This represents just 5.5% of the $2.25 trillion projected for 2007 health spending overall in the United States. This is a stagnation relative to total health costs, a trend that began in 2005.
"Cuts in spending power have had devastating effects on the research community and young scientists in particular," said The Honorable John Edward Porter, chair of Research!America and former Illinois Congressman. "Without real growth in our federal research investment, we lose the innovation that has built our economy and represents our future. Science will only be a funding priority if we do something about it."
The Research!America report, 2007 Investment in U.S. Health Research, finds that spending by sector on health-related research was flat or rose just slightly from 2006:
- The combined health research budgets of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies decreased from 2006 to 2007 after accounting for biomedical inflation, maintaining a trend that began in 2004.
- In 2007, the NIH, which is the largest federal agency that funds research to improve health, saw its budget decrease for the fourth year in a row relative to inflation, at $29.1 billion.
- Industry spending on health research increased slightly from $64.5 billion in 2006 to nearly $68.3 billion in 2007. This modest growth is overshadowed by the fact that flattening in government funds has in the past led to a similar flattening in private funding.
- Health research funded by universities, independent research institutes, voluntary health associations, foundations, and state and local governments combined rose from $13.7 billion in 2006 to $16 billion in 2007.
"Now is the time to take bold actions both personally and through advocacy groups to accelerate support for all health and medical research," said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America."By failing to do so, we consign ourselves and future generations to a world with little hope for dramatically improving human health and well-being."
Research!America has issued reports estimating the U.S. investment in health-related research since 2002. The 2007 report was compiled by Research!America's Emily Connelly, former Research!America Fellow Amit Mistry, PhD, and Stacie Propst, PhD. All reports in the series are available online at www.researchamerica.org/research_investment.
Research!America is the nation's largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, it is supported by 500 member organizations, which represent more than 125 million Americans.
Ms. Woolley and Dr. Propst are available for further comment.
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