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In Partnership With:
September 18, 2025
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Spotlight
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- Last Tuesday, the Make America Healthy Again Commission released its Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, which outlines 128 recommendations aimed at improving children’s health. The report’s five areas of focus to address childhood chronic disease include restoring science and research; executive actions; process reform and deregulation; public awareness and education; and private sector collaboration. While there is wide agreement that it is important to address chronic disease, including among children, some critics have expressed that the report lacks detail. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Leavitt Partners have released a policy resource providing a detailed overview of the report.
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Congressional and Administration Updates
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- Last week, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services bill. Much like the Senate version that came out earlier this month, the bill does not provide funding for the proposed restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) included in the President’s Budget but asks the Administration for more detail about plans for the agencies. Despite this, the bill includes major cuts to health programs, such as a $1.7 billion reduction to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget compared to FY25 funding levels. Among the CDC programs proposed for elimination are the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Program, Social Determinants of Health Program, Office of Smoking and Health, Office of School Health, and Prevention Research Centers.
- Earlier this month, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the agency’s health care agenda. Many of the Senators’ questions covered the dismissal of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez and the departure of other key agency leadership as well as recent changes at HHS that impact vaccine access. In the contentious hearing, Secretary Kennedy faced pushback from Senators on both sides of the aisle, with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) stating “effectively, we're denying people vaccine” as a result of HHS narrowing eligibility to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Yesterday, dismissed CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee about the circumstances that led to her removal and the subsequent resignations of other top CDC officials. According to Dr. Monarez, Secretary Kennedy wanted “blanket approval from her” and disagreed with the Secretary about the childhood vaccine schedule. Former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry also testified, stating she resigned "because Secretary Kennedy's actions repeatedly censored CDC science, politicized our processes, and stripped agency leaders of the ability to protect the health of the American people."
- Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) and Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT-AL) introduced the Protecting Young Minds Online Act, which requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service’s Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services to develop and disseminate a strategy to address the effects of new technologies, like social media, on children’s mental health. To read the full text of the legislation, click here.
- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be meeting on September 18th and 19th to discuss COVID vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccines, and Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella vaccines. On Monday, HHS named five new members to the Committee. While the Committee’s recommendations will not be known until later this week, former CDC officials expect a vote to delay the birth-dose of Hepatitis B vaccine to age four, a change to the vaccine schedule that is not supported by evidence.
- On September 4th, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter notifying state awardees of the Vaccines for Children Program (VCP) that participating programs and providers are responsible for following federal and state religious and conscience exemptions included in vaccine laws. In the letter, OCR states that it enforces 26 conscience statutes applicable to various funding streams in addition to 21 religious nondiscrimination provisions in other federal statutes and regulations.
- The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and SAMHSA issued guidance to states on implementing a continuum of crisis services through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The guidance is intended to provide “effective practices in crisis services as well as the federal authorities under which states can finance and enhance the availability of crisis response services in Medicaid and CHIP.”
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Reports and Announcements
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- Trust for America’s Health just released its latest report, Public Health Infrastructure in Crisis: HHS Workforce Cuts, Reorganizations, and Funding Reductions: Impacts and Solutions, earlier today. The report provides an in-depth analysis of how national and local capabilities to address infectious disease outbreaks, emergency readiness, mental health and substance misuse, and chronic disease prevention will be severely hindered by the current and proposed budget cuts, staff reductions, and reorganizations at public health agencies within the federal government. The report is largely focused on proposed changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other U.S. Department of Health and Human Services divisions due to their central role in supporting public health programs and crisis response at the state and local level. It includes a breakdown of the nearly 100 health programs slated to be eliminated, such as initiatives for cancer, AIDS/HIV, and opioid use and overdose prevention. Health officials for Alabama and Lubbock, Texas also provide insights into how public health programs have been hamstrung by budget cuts and funding takebacks and how additional cuts will impact their departments.
- September is National Recovery Month, which started in 1989 to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the nation’s strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery possible. SAMHSA aims to increase public awareness surrounding mental health and addiction recovery. In the years since Recovery Month launched, SAMHSA has timed announcements of initiatives and grant funding during Recovery Month, while collaborating with private and public entities to celebrate individuals during their long-term recoveries.
- A new study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse has linked quitting smoking with recovery from other addictions. Scientists analyzed data from 2,652 people 18 and older who had a history of substance use disorder and who experienced a change in their recovery status over the next four years. Participants in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study are asked annually about their smoking status and other substance use. In this analysis, a change in smoking status from “current” to “former” use of cigarettes was associated with 42 percent greater odds of the individual being in recovery from their non-tobacco substance use disorder.
- The latest CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) features the article Emergency Department Survey of Vaccination Knowledge, Vaccination Coverage, and Willingness to Receive Vaccines in an Emergency Department Among Underserved Populations. Analysis found that of those surveyed, 49.9 percent of non-critically ill adults had not heard of at least one CDC recommended vaccine, while 85.9 percent had missed at least one or more. 46.4 percent of those in the survey said they would be willing to get at least one vaccine in an emergency department setting. The authors propose that emergency departments could be explored as a setting to offer vaccination screenings, recommendations and referrals.
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- SAMHSA is awarding $19 million in new supplemental funding through the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant for efforts to address the intersection of homelessness and serious mental illness (SMI). This supplemental funding provides an opportunity for states to align public health, housing, and justice systems to reduce homelessness and improve outcomes for individuals with SMI. The funding will help states build capacity and promote collaboration across systems, with a particular focus on addressing the intersection of homelessness and SMI.
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