Two weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday. If we count the time I spent in vitro, I’ve been alive for three-quarters of a century. It doesn’t seem like I should be 75 years old. I mean I know I am, but my brain still thinks I’m 35, my sense of humor still thinks I’m 12 and my body keeps asking if we’re dead yet.
Let’s look at the statistics.
A male born In 1951 had a life expectancy of 66 years. My living almost 10 years longer than expectancy is a testament to medical science, environmental changes and modern technology. There’s something to be said for breathing clean air, drinking clean water and being protected from disease through vaccination.
Currently, life expectancy is on the decline. Since 2020 life expectancy has gone down by two years. COVID-19 and drug addiction has, and is, playing a huge role in this decline. But based on the current anti-vaxxing crusade and the administration’s attack on academic research it is expected to decline even further.
Diseases that were eradicated are making a comeback. I once asked my mother what that circle on her shoulder was and she told me it was to stop smallpox. When I asked why I didn’t have one she just said, “you don’t need it because it’s gone.”
In addition to being protected by vaccination I am a walking, talking testament to medical technology and pharmacology. Ceramic hip joint, heart stents and a daily regimen of medication which keeps everything flowing properly.
You’d think that a pandemic like the one we just went through would spur calls for greater protections from future threats and yet that isn’t the case. The siren’s call for yesteryear has taken front and center and people are mesmerized by its song.
What scares me the most is that the opportunity I’ve had to live 10 years beyond my projected life expectancy is not going to happen for my grandchildren.
Why? Because it looks as if the golden age of medical innovation and breakthrough are being curtailed and/or eliminated completely. Which is so incredibly foolish. For decades, the United States has led the world in medical innovation. That leadership, however, is now at risk. The current administration’s decision to scale back funding for critical medical research threatens not only future breakthroughs but also our ability to protect public health and maintain global competitiveness.
Medical advances don’t happen overnight. They begin with basic science, often funded by federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), long before a private company brings a drug or treatment to market. When these public institutions face funding cuts, vital research on cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, rare illnesses, and emerging infections is postponed or scrapped entirely.
The private sector plays an important role in later-stage development, but it rarely invests in the high-risk, long-horizon projects that lay the groundwork for breakthroughs. That’s where public investment is essential. Without it, many promising discoveries simply never happen.
This cutback doesn’t just affect science, it affects people. Delays in medical research mean longer waits for new treatments, reduced options for patients with serious illnesses, and slower progress toward addressing health inequities. It also weakens our ability to respond swiftly and effectively to future public health threats.
Moreover, these cuts risk driving away the next generation of researchers. Young scientists, already facing fierce competition and limited grant availability, may leave academia, or the country, in search of more stable support. This “brain drain” undermines decades of progress and diminishes our future capacity for innovation. China has indicated that those students being removed from U.S. colleges are welcome to continue their research in Chinese universities – and they are going!
Medical research is one of the wisest investments a nation can make. It fuels not only better health outcomes, but also economic growth, job creation, and global influence. Curtailing it may seem like a budgetary win today, but it’s a long-term loss in every measurable way.
We should be accelerating research, not retreating from it. The cost of inaction is measured in lives, not in dollars.
Note: If you’re 64 or just going on Medicare there is still room for our Medicare 101 class on Thursday, June 26 at the Traverse Area District Library. The next one is July 24. Call for reservations.