NIH to crack down on excessive publisher fees for publicly funded research

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

As part of its ongoing commitment to scientific transparency and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced plans to implement a new policy that will cap how much publishers can charge NIH-supported scientists to make their research findings publicly accessible. This initiative reflects a broader effort to restore public trust in public health by promoting open, honest, and transparent scientific communication.

“Creating an open, honest, and transparent research atmosphere is a key part of restoring public trust in public health,” said NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. “This reform will make science accessible not only to the public but also to the broader scientific community, while ending perverse incentives that don’t benefit taxpayers.”

The current landscape of scholarly publishing presents growing challenges. Some major publishers charge as much as $13,000 per article for immediate open access, while also collecting substantial subscription fees from government agencies. For example, one publishing group reportedly receives more than $2 million annually in subscription fees from NIH, in addition to tens of millions more through exclusive article processing charges (APCs). These costs ultimately burden taxpayers who have already funded the underlying research.

To address this imbalance, NIH will introduce a cap on allowable publication costs starting in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, ensuring that publication fees remain reasonable across the research ecosystem. The policy aims to curb excessive APCs and ensure the broad dissemination of research findings without unnecessary financial barriers.

This reform builds on NIH’s long-standing commitment to open science and public access, as demonstrated by initiatives such as:

• The NIH Public Access Policy, which ensures that peer-reviewed publications resulting from NIH funding are made freely available to the public without embargo.
• The NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, which promotes the timely sharing of scientific data regardless of publication status.
• The NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT), which provide public insight into NIH-funded research activities, expenditures, and results.
• The NIH Intramural Access Policy, which encourages broader use of NIH-developed technologies through licensing strategies that enhance patient and public access.

“This policy marks a critical step in protecting the integrity of the scientific publishing system while ensuring that public investments in research deliver maximum public benefit,” Dr. Bhattacharya said.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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