This week, the House Appropriations Committee marked up its fiscal year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Bill. The bill proposed substantial changes and funding cuts to health-related programs—it recommends $2 billion for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, a cut of $525 million below last year, but the bill eliminates all other HIV funding streams. The bill would eliminate funding for Title X Family planning and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs.

Consistent with the Administration’s budget proposal, the bill recommends consolidating the Sexually Transmitted Infections, Domestic TB, and Infectious Diseases and the Opioid Epidemic funding lines into a new Consolidated STD and Tuberculosis Prevention grant and provides $300 million for a block grant program to give states flexibility to address local needs and state-specific challenges. They pulled out the grant funding for viral hepatitis and provided $53 million in dedicated funding for that program.

A funding chart of health-related programs can be found here.

The bill defunds diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and contains a whole host of controversial policy riders including provisions that:

• • • blocks any funding for gender-affirming care
    • prohibits public schools from protecting transgender athletes
    • restricts taxpayer funding for abortions (aka the Hyde Amendment)
    • eliminates funding for refugee services

The substantial differences between the House proposed FY26 LHHS funding and the Senate’s, along with the large number of controversial policy riders, in NCSD’s estimation, increases the likelihood that LHHS funding operates under a continuing resolution for the entire fiscal year.  Lots more to come—stay tuned!