In July, 2025 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a request for information seeking public input on a proposed policy to limit allowable publication costs. The NIH’s RFI outlines five potential policy changes: 

1. Disallow all publication costs. NIH funds could no longer be used to cover any fees associated with publishing, including APCs. 

2. Set a per‑publication cap of $2,000. Awardees could still pay publication fees — but only up to a fixed limit per paper, aligning roughly with U.S. average APCs. 

3. Raise the cap to $3,000 for journals that compensate reviewers and have open peer review.
   
4. Limit total publication costs to 0.8% of an award, or $20,000 – whichever is greater. This places a ceiling on spending across the life of the grant, allowing flexibility for higher per-article costs. 

5. Combine both a generous per-publication cap ($6,000) and the total award cap (0.8% or $20k). This hybrid approach balances flexibility with budgetary guardrails.
   
   

Source https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/18/pay-peer-reviewers-allowable-publication-costs-nih-proposal-open-access/

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