Kimbell & Associates: Trump Administration Issues MAHA Strategy Report of Recommendations to President Trump

September 10, 2025

On Tuesday, September 9, the Trump Administration released a report on the “Recommendations of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission to President Donald J. Trump,” referred to as the MAHA Strategy. The MAHA Strategy follows Executive Order (EO) 14212, “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,” which required the MAHA Commission to submit the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, previously released on May 22. The MAHA Strategy fulfills a directive within the EO to publish a Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy to the President based on the findings of the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment.

The MAHA Strategy outlines executive actions to address childhood chronic disease through four key areas, including:

• Advancing Critical Research to Drive Innovation
• Realigning Incentives and Systems to Drive Health Outcomes Research to Drive Innovation
• Increasing Public Awareness and Knowledge
• Fostering Private Sector Collaboration

Key summary excerpts of directives from the four sections of the MAHA Strategy relevant to the biomedical innovation community are included below:

Advancing Critical Research to Drive Innovation

• “NIH MAHA Chronic Disease Initiative – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will launch an Initiative on Chronic Disease to leverage and align existing NIH research projects, improve NIH coordination on chronic disease research, and generate actionable results for diseases arising in childhood and adulthoo.d”
• “Real World Data Platform (RWDP) – The NIH will link multiple datasets, such as claims information, electronic health records, and wearables data, into a single integrated dataset for researchers studying the causes of, and developing treatments for, the chronic disease crisis.”
• “Autism – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through NIH and in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will study the root causes of autism, including through the RWDP.”
• “Vaccine Injury – HHS, in collaboration with NIH, will investigate vaccine injuries with improved data collection and analysis, including through a new vaccine injury research program at the NIH Clinical Center that may expand to centers around the country.”
• “Prescribing Patterns and Impact on Mental Health – HHS will form a mental health diagnosis and prescription working group to evaluate prescription patterns for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and other relevant drugs for children.”
• “Repurposed Drugs – The NIH and [the Food and Drug Administration] FDA will jointly investigate opportunities to strengthen the use of repurposed drugs for the treatment of chronic disease, while harmonizing authorization processes through collaborative clinical trial designs to achieve FDA approval”
• “Mental Health and Addiction Research – The NIH, working with HHS, will strengthen existing research by directing funding for research on mental health and addiction, with a special focus on screentime use in children and adolescents.”
• “Artificial Intelligence – HHS will prioritize research into the appropriate integration of AI to assist in earlier diagnosis, personalized treatment plans, real-time monitoring, and predictive interventions that prevent hospitalizations, reduce costs, and reduce the economic burden of chronic disease.”

Realigning Incentives and Systems to Drive Health Outcomes Research to Drive Innovation

• “Direct-to-Consumer Pharma Advertising – FDA, HHS, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Department of Justice will increase oversight and enforcement under current authorities for violations of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising laws.”
• “Agency Foundation Capture – The HHS Secretary will direct the FDA, [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC, and NIH to review participation in any projects or initiatives funded by food and pharmaceutical companies through the CDC Foundation, Foundation for the NIH, or the Reagan-Udall Foundation.”
• “Medicaid Quality – CMS will collaborate with states to establish quality metrics for Medicaid managed care organizations that promote measurable health improvements through nutrition coaching and other fitness indicators (e.g., predicted VO₂ Max)”
• “Medicaid Care Delivery – CMS will collaborate with states to enhance prior authorization requirements and establish prescribing safeguards to address the overuse of medications in school-age children—particularly for conditions such as ADHD”
• “Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – CMS will collaborate with and support state CHIP programs in promoting evidence-based prevention and wellness initiatives for children at the local level.”
• “Quality Measurement – HHS and CMS will develop quality measures that promote children’s health outcomes rather than just healthcare utilization.”
• “Price Transparency – HHS, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Labor will fully implement the President’s executive order regarding hospital and insurer price transparency so that Americans are in control of managing their healthcare.”
• “Direct Primary Care (DPC) – HHS will promote increased accessibility to direct care models for families through education about the new flexibilities enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that allow use of health savings accounts with DPC and also allow enrollees in high-deductible health plans to enroll in DPC arrangements.”
• “Drug and Device Approval Improvements – FDA will work to eliminate regulatory burdens that impose costs and delays on bringing transformative treatments to patients without improving safety.”
• “Agency Restructuring – HHS will undergo comprehensive reorganization to create the AHA, a new agency structure specifically designed to coordinate and lead the Federal government’s response to the chronic disease crisis through integrated prevention-focused programs and streamlined accountability for related programs.”

Increasing Public Awareness and Knowledge

• “Pediatric Mental Health – HHS will ensure the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program at Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is effective at providing access to pediatric mental health professionals, especially as youth anxiety and depression are increasing and are linked to factors such as screen time, vaping, poor nutrition, and lack of physical fitness.”
• “Medical Evidence – NIH will create public-facing clinical transparency reviews to help patients and healthcare professionals make evidence-based treatment decisions.”

Fostering Private Sector Collaboration

• “Community-Level Transformations – HHS will leverage available funding, as consistent with the statute, to drive community-led initiatives aimed at measurably reducing chronic disease in children.”

The MAHA Strategy is available HERE.

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If you are interested in assistance in assessing the MAHA Strategy, please contact Allison Itz at aitz@kimbell-associates.com, or the Kimbell & Associates advisor with whom you regularly work.