West Virginia University expects to lose about $12 million per year in funding to support cancer and vascular research and more if the Trump administration goes through with changes to the way the National Institutes of Health provides funding for overhead and administrative costs, a spokeswoman for the university said Tuesday.

The cuts — part of a plan to save the federal government $4 billion a year — would limit WVU’s research enterprise and cost the school the faculty who were recruited to do the research, April Kaull, WVU’s executive director of communications, wrote in an email.

Areas including research and clinical trials for cancer, neuroscience and heart and vascular advancements would see the biggest impacts, Kaull wrote.

“This could severely hinder the university’s efforts toward obtaining the first National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in our state’s history,” she wrote. “This is critical, as West Virginians have the worst outcomes for many types of cancer in the country.”

The federal agency announced Friday plans to reduce indirect cost recovery to 15% from previously negotiated rates for new and existing grants.

“The United States should have the best medical research in the world,” NIH wrote in announcing the changes. “It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead. “

Direct costs cover things such as researcher salaries, student stipends, supplies and some equipment, Kaull said. Indirect research costs include things like heat and air, building maintenance, chemical and radiation safety, library access, human subjects and animal welfare support and centralized research facilities.

The school does not profit from indirect costs, Kaull wrote.

“Our leadership teams are working with key constituents and policymakers to seek reconsideration,” she said. “All universities have indirect costs, and our nation’s research universities cannot operate without this support.”

A spokeswoman for Marshall University said the school continues to review changes from both the state and federal government that affect higher education.

“Marshall University’s government and legal teams continue to review every aspect of the federal and state executive orders that affect higher education, including academic research at the institution, to ensure compliance,” Leah Payne, the school’s director of communication, wrote in an email. “At this time, we don’t have any additional information to share.”

A federal judge on Tuesday reportedly ordered the Trump administration to hold off on the plans to cut the medical research spending. The order from Judge Angel Kelley for the U.S. District Court in Boston was in response to a legal challenge filed by university associations and major research centers that said the “flagrantly unlawful action” by U.S. health officials “will devastate medical research at America’s universities,” according to the New York Times.

According to reporting by Axios, the Trump administration proposed similar cuts during his first administration but Congress did not act. Project 2025, a conservative playbook for Trump’s second term that was co-authored by Russell Vought, Trump’s director of Management and Budget, says the funds subsidize “cross-subsidize leftist agendas” and that the schools use the funding to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

In a statement Tuesday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, said she understands the Trump administration’s interest in reforming indirect costs — some are as high as 70% and she believes the issue is something that officials should address.

“However, the actions taken last week were a one-size fits all approach that could have dramatic impacts, which is why this deserves some discussion and careful consideration before any final decision is made,” she said.

A spokesman for Sen. Jim Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.

West Virginia Gov. and Senator-elect Jim Justice said Tuesday he supports a plan by President Joe Biden’s administration to expand access to costly weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, but acknowledged that their prices might be a concern.

The Biden administration announced Tuesday a proposal to reinterpret a federal law to no longer exclude the drugs being used to treat obesity from Medicare part D coverage and to require Medicaid to cover the drugs when used to treat obesity.

The governor said during his administrative briefing he doesn’t know how to expand access to the drugs “from the standpoint of the cost” and said sustainability must be part of the puzzle.

“For all I know about these drugs, they are beneficial in many different ways,” Justice said. “And the net net of the whole thing at the end of the rainbow — it’ll save us money. It’ll save us money. But we’ve got so much that we’ve got to do to overhaul this colossal mess in D.C. It’s unbelievable. That’s just all there is to it.”

“I would be a proponent of trying to do everything we can to be able to expand these drugs that you’re talking about to everybody,” Justice said. “Because at the end of the day it will save us tremendous amounts of money.”

Justice added that he is currently taking the drug Ozempic, a GLP-1 used to treat diabetes and weight loss, and that he’s lost “30, 40 pounds, maybe even 50 pounds.”

Justice said the “battleground” about expanding access to the drugs will be the cost and there will be arguments about the health benefits.

A monthly supply of Ozempic and similar drugs can range from $936 to $1,349, according to KFF Health News.

Premiums for members of the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency are proposed to rise by more than 10% during the next fiscal year, in part because of the costs of drugs like Ozempic. PEIA director Brian Cunningham has said that rising prescription drug costs — particularly drugs for obesity and diabetes — are a big driver of the proposed rate increases.

GLP-1s accounted for $53 million, or 20% of the net drug spend for PEIA last year, Cunningham said. Earlier this year, the agency suspended a pilot program that covered the cost of the drugs to treat obesity.

President-elect Donald Trump’s administration would need to approve CMS’s proposal, which is expected to cost $25 billion for Medicare combined with $11 billion in federal spending and $3.8 billion in state spending for Medicaid coverage throughout the next decade.

Medicaid is a state and federal program that covers more than 500,000 West Virginia residents, according to November numbers from the state Department of Human Services. The department did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment on Biden’s proposal.

West Virginia has the highest obesity rate in the country, at 41% in 2022.

Trump had not commented on the proposal as of Tuesday afternoon. His pick for HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has criticized the drugs.

“If we spent about one-fifth of that giving good food, three meals a day, to every man, woman and child in our country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight,” Kennedy said on an appearance on Fox News.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it expects about 3.4 million people in the Medicare program would become eligible for anti-obesity medication coverage under the proposed rule that would take effect in 2026 if Trump decides to finalize it.

The proposal is expected to cost $25 billion for Medicare combined with $11 billion in federal spending and $3.8 billion in state spending for Medicaid coverage throughout the next decade.

“Our loved ones with Medicare deserve care that puts their interests first. HHS is proposing to improve transparency, accountability, and consumer protections in Medicare Advantage and Part D plans so that everyone receives high-quality care,” Xavier Becerra, secretary for the federal Health and Human Services, said in a statement. “To achieve that, we want to remove barriers that delay care or deny people services and medications they need to be healthy. In addition, we continue to promote competition for pharmacies and other health care businesses.”

Jennifer Shutt of State’s Newsroom’s DC Bureau contributed to this story.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com. Follow West Virginia Watch on Facebook and X.