HHS FY 2026 Budget Reflects Recent Department Actions and Priorities

The federal government’s leading healthcare agency is requesting a 25% decrease in FY 2026 funding in adherence to HHS’ recent reorganization plan and streamlined priorities. Specifically, the HHS budget considers the centralization of department-wide functions, the termination and de-scoping of certain contracts, and the reorganization of multiple HHS agencies, programs and offices. Note that the $94.7B total request includes a $750M decrease in Non-Recurring Expenses Fund Cancellation and Recissions.

At the forefront of the HHS budget is funding for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative. The budget provides $500M to address priorities in chronic illness to meet MAHA objectives. Of that total, $260M is provided to the Administration for a Healthy America, with key funding dedicated to increased health access including $119M to promote reliable broadband technology integration, and $20M to create the Chronic Care Telehealth Centers for Excellence program. Another $8M is provided for grants to integrate telehealth and digital health technologies into disease prevention and nutrition services. MAHA initiative funding also includes $240M for the FDA to address food and drug quality and safety.

The new Administration for Healthy America (AHA) leads the changes taking place under the HHS reorganization plan. The budget establishes AHA with a $14.1B request. The following agencies and programs are combined under AHA:

• Office of Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), formerly under NIH
• Primary Care, formerly under CDC
• Maternal and Child Health, formerly under CDC
• Mental and Behavioral Health, formerly under CDC
• Environmental Health, formerly under CDC
• HIV/AIDS, formerly under CDC
• Health Workforce, formerly under CDC
• AHA Policy, Research, and Oversight, which includes the Surgeon General

Moreover, NIH will consolidate 19 institutes into an 8-institute framework and requests $27.5B in FY 2026, a $17B decrease from FY 2025 to reflect the reorganization. The consolidated institutes include the following, note that the first three listed institutes will retain their original portfolios:  

• National Cancer Institute
• National Institute on Aging
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• National Institute on Body Systems
• National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• National Institute for Child and Women’s Health, Sensory, Disorders and Communication
• National Institute of Behavioral Health

In addition, the budget eliminates the following CDC programs: Global HIV/AIDS, Global Tuberculosis, and Global Immunization, and programs in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR): Hospital Preparedness Program Cooperative Agreements, HHS Coordination Operations and Response Element, and the Medical Reserve Corps.

Below is a breakdown of FY 2026 discretionary funding among the HHS bureaus, with the figures in parenthesis revealing the precent change from FY 2025 to FY 2026.

Source: HHS Budget

Additional HHS Budget Observations

• Provides $5.0B for Departmental Management Activities, and includes a $7M investment to support the Office of the Secretary’s transition to the E-gov travel service system
• Includes $191M to continue the transition of the Electronic Health Record System under IHS
• Provides $588M to establish a new Center for Preparedness and Response under CDC
• Establishes the Office of Strategy with $240M and the Office of the Secretary for Enforcement with $231M
• Unifies the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT/Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, and the HHS cybersecurity program under the Office of the Chief Technology Officer and a $130M request
• Requests $100M for departmental cyber activities
• Includes $1.7B in mandatory investments at CMS

Stay tuned as the Federal Market Analysis team here at Deltek continues to unpack the FY 2026 federal budget. For an initial overview of the budget, refer to FY 2026 President’s Budget Request – GovWin FMA’s First Take.