Budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health could have widespread effects

May 06, 2013

The sequester cuts are having a direct impact on medical research, and that could affect your health. The National Institutes of Health lost 5 percent of its budget in the sequester. That's about $1.6 billion, according to Pam Miller of the American Heart Association.

“A lot of the advancements that have come about in terms of treating patients that have had a heart event or in terms of prevention have come about through NIH research,” Miller said. “And so, to cut those to historic low levels will have a very direct impact on heart patients.”

Arizona got more than $36 million from NIH last year, and Miller says the cuts could affect jobs and the overall economy.