Sent on behalf of ANA CEO, Angela Beddoe:
Week of April 14, 2025
Congress in recess. All is quiet in DC, at least on Capitol Hill, as both chambers of Congress are in recess. Both chambers are due back in session on April 28, where budget reconciliation will be the primary focus.
Draft HHS budget leaked. A draft of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) FY 2026 budget was leaked this week, sparking concerns about additional changes at the health agency. As we have reported, HHS is undergoing a massive restructuring of the size and scope of HHS in line with President Trump's overall desire to reduce the size of the federal government. The proposed framework includes an updated organizational chart that shows the elimination of the National Institute of Nursing Research-a development that is of great concern for the American Nurses Association (ANA). ANA understands the critical role NINR plays in advancing nursing research and the profession.
In addition to eliminating the NINR, the proposed budget framework would eliminate several other health programs for savings, many of which are specific and vital to nurses. In addition to nursing programs, the framework terminates maternal and child, substance use, mental health, and other key public health programs.
Budget frameworks often target programs to signal a shift in priorities or need for restructuring-and that does not necessarily mean that the programs will be eliminated. The previous Trump and Bush Administrations' budgets zeroed out some nursing programs and redesignated a portion of that money back into the Nurse Corps. Congress stopped that from becoming a reality each time.
ANA is monitoring the situation closely and working with coalition partners as the process unfolds and action is confirmed. ANA strongly urges the Trump Administration to reconsider elimination of the NINR and cautions the agency from removing programs solely based on achieving budgetary savings without fully understanding the implications of such action.
Medicare payment rules released. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued several proposed rules regarding payments for inpatient hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice, inpatient psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities. This annual rulemaking dictates how facilities and providers will be reimbursed for health care services, refine quality reporting programs, and advance other agency priorities. The rules include a modest increase in payments across all facilities. Other provisions propose to remove health equity/social determinant of health-focused quality measures across various reporting programs. For inpatient hospitals, CMS is proposing to make mandatory an episode-based accountability model. In conjunction with the release of the rules, CMS issued a request for information (RFI) on areas for deregulation in the Medicare program-part of President Trump's larger government-wide focus on deregulation. ANA's Policy Team is analyzing the provisions of the rule and RFI and will provide comment before the June 10 deadline.
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Nicole DeMers
Association and Board Services Manager
AAACN
Pitman, NJ
856.256.2359
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