The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a new partnership between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) aimed at studying the “root causes of autism spectrum disorder.” The research initiative will draw from claims data, medical records, and wearable device data, according to a press release.
The announcement follows recent comments by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who vowed to launch a “massive testing and research effort” on autism. Kennedy said the initiative will “deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear.”
Kennedy’s past claims linking vaccines to autism have been widely discredited by public health experts. The CDC has stated that no connection exists between vaccines and autism, and critics have labeled Kennedy’s rhetoric on the issue “misleading” and “harmful.”
The partnership will examine trends in diagnosis, treatment outcomes, care disparities, and economic impact using CMS’s Research Data Disclosure Program. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said the collaboration will help uncover complex contributors to autism and chronic disease, while maintaining strict privacy compliance.
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