Late on January 22, 2026, the House of Representatives passed the last remaining Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) funding bill ahead of the January 30 deadline. The bill includes full-year funding for key agencies serving older adults, including the Departments of Health & Human Services (HHS) and Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The bills will now to go the Senate for a vote as the clock winds down. Enacting the funding bills before January 30 will avert a second lapse in federal appropriations for the agencies following the more than 40-day government shutdown this past fall.

Below is an analysis of FY26 funding for a few key HHS programs impacting nursing homes.

Administration for Community Living – Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The long-term care ombudsman program will be funded at $21,885,000 in FY 26, consistent with FY 24 funding levels.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – State Survey and Certification. State survey and certification is funded at $397,334,000 for FY26. This funding mirrors the FY24 funding, which was continued in FY25 under a full-year Continuing Resolution, and is consistent with CMS’ claims that survey and certification funding has been flat-lined for more than 10 years. CMS points to the flat-line funding as a factor in significant surveyor workforce shortages, which have impacted LeadingAge members through survey and certification backlogs. LeadingAge has advocated for implementation of the Risk-Based Survey model to help ease backlogs and continues to advocate for various reforms to the survey and certification process, which could be supported by an increase in funding.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). LeadingAge is watching appropriations for various programs under CDC. While funding for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases was cut by $9,174,000 compared to FY24 funding levels, this decrease was off-set by increases to several other programs that impact LeadingAge members.

• Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. This program will be funded at $316,901,000 in FY26, a $9M decrease from FY24 levels. Despite this decrease, the Section 317 Immunization Program, which provides grants to states to provide free vaccines to uninsured / underinsured adults including those living and working in LeadingAge member communities, will maintain funding at $681,933,000 for FY26. Influenza Planning and Response will also maintain FY24 funding levels at $231,358,000 in FY26 during a flu season that saw elevated levels of cases and hospitalizations early in the season and showed the second highest one-week peak in hospitalizations since the 2011-2012 flu season.
• Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. This program will receive a $20,500,000 increase in FY26 to $729,272,000. The Emerging Infectious Diseases program will receive a $11,000,000 increase, while the Antibiotic Resistance Initiative, National Healthcare Safety Network, and Healthcare Associated Infections will all maintain FY24 funding levels. LeadingAge notes that CDC’s program activities and data collection in these areas continue to impact nursing homes through various Infection Prevention and Control requirements and quality measurement programs.
• Public Health. Public Health Scientific Services, which funds surveillance, epidemiology, and informatics, will receive a $70, 056,000 increase over FY24 and Public Health Preparedness and Responses will receive a $178,200,000 increase over FY24 funding levels.

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