Trending News Today: Trump Budget Proposes $291 Million to Fight HIV, Cuts to Global Funding

The Trump administration proposed $291 million in its annual budget for its initiative to end the HIV epidemic, but requested a $1.35 billion cut in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Kaiser Health News reported. The allocation to fight HIV in the United States would be divided between multiple programs, including the CDC and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the article reported. However, Congress is not obliged to fulfill any requests in the budget proposal, which would be for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2019, the article reported.

UnitedHealthcare is broadening a program that passes drug rebates from manufacturers directly to patients, The Associated Press reported. According to the article, beginning next year, all new employer-sponsored health plan customers using the insurer must give the discounts they get for including certain drugs on their lists of covered medications directly to consumers at the point-of-sale. UnitedHealthcare said that its expanded requirement does not apply to existing employer customers that do not already give rebates directly to the consumer, the article reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that another influenza pandemic is inevitable and a global plan is needed to fight the disease and prepare for the potential devastation, Reuters reported. According to the article, the WHO’s comprehensive plan includes measures to protect populations as much as possible from annual outbreaks and to prepare for a pandemic. Its 2 main goals are to improve worldwide capacities for surveillance and response and develop better tools to prevent, detect, control, and treat the flu, the article reported.