A package of funding bills passed the House and moves to the Senate for a vote prior to the January 30 deadline. If the Senate fails to approve the package, the government could again shut down, as it did for over a month at the beginning of federal fiscal year 2026. The four-bill package includes a bill funding portions of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget and many programs serving older adults.

Funding for programs under the Older Americans Act (OAA) and others that benefit older adults were largely flat funded. This is a huge win, as the Trump administration’s request to Congress zeroed out many key budget lines, effectively ending the programs, if those eliminations were agreed to by congress.

Below is analysis of FY26 funding for a few key HHS programs supporting older adults in communities.

• Low-income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)– Held largely flat, with a small increase over the 2025 continuing resolution (CR) to be funded in 2026 at $4.045 billion
• Social Services and Community Services Block Grants (SSBG and CSBG)– Provide flexible funding to states to provide services that support self-sufficiency such as home delivered meals, support housing stability, and provide counseling, among others. The social services block grant was funded at $1.7 billion, identical to the 2025 enacted CR. The Community Services block could see a small increase from 2025 levels of $775 million to proposed 2026 funding of $810 million
• Older Americans Act (OAA)– Titles 3(b) Supportive services and centers and 3(e) family caregiver supports which fund many individuals in member adult day programs both saw small increased from the 2025 enacted CR. Title 3(b) will be funded at $414 billion and 3(e) will be funded at $209 billion. Other titles including congregate and home-delivered meals, preventive health, and adult protective services were funded at levels equal to 2025 enacted budgets.

Other programs supporting seniors such as State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIPs), Alzheimer’s Disease Program Initiative, Elder Falls Prevention, and the Lifespan Respite Care lines were all funded at levels consistent with the 2025 enacted CR.

LeadingAge will continue to monitor appropriations activity as we look ahead to the Senate vote.