Federal Spending for Health and Human Services Finalized for 2026
After a brief government shutdown due to timing differences in the Senate and the House, both chambers passed spending appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services. Among the provisions are a two-year extension on clinicians' ability to bill Medicare for telehealth encounters, through September 30, 2027, while requiring CMS to establish telehealth modifiers by the end of this year. Congress also extended the Acute Care at Home program (also known as "hospital at home") through 2030, and funded $48.7 billion in funding across the National Institutes of Health (NIH), rejecting an administration budget that included significant NIH cuts. Funding for federal community health centers, the federal Administration for Community Living (ACL) and ACL family caregiving and respite programs was also extended.