The Leaked 2026 HHS Budget is a Nightmare
Today’s edition of WTF America is brought to you by MAHA – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement. A movement that is, in my personal opinion, more vile than the bowel movement of a toddler with norovirus (sorry to all the parents and pediatricians out there who know exactly what I mean).
So what did MAHA deliver the American people this time? Well, someone working at HHS leaked the department’s proposed 2026 budget, which includes slashing $21.2 billion from the National Institutes of Health, $500 million from the Food and Drug Administration, and $4 billion from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Honestly I could use a thousand words to describe the madness of this proposed budget, but I think the list of proposed program eliminations speaks for itself. Check it out.
Here are the proposed eliminations that caught my eye as a doctor and child advocate, sorted by administration.
The Administration of Children and Families:
Head Start - the country’s largest federal early childhood learning program for low income children.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) - energy bill assistance for low income families, particularly in winter months.
State Councils on Developmental Disabilities - joint state and federal program that work in conjunction to ensure Americans with disabilities can access support.
The Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening - hearing testing for all American newborns to improve early detection of hearing problems that can impact early development.
Newborn Screening for Heritable Disorders - funding for blood testing every baby born in America receives at birth so heritable diseases that need rapid intervention can be detected.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program - funds for sex education, contraception in areas with high rates of teen pregnancy.
Pediatric Training for Emergency Medical Services - an initiative to improve EMS training on pediatric issues. After-all kids aren’t just tiny adults.
The Lead Exposure Registry - a program that ensures children with lead exposure get the treatment they need and families get help removing lead from their home.
The Administration of Mental Health
Crisis Response Grants - federal funding for programs that improve the way 9-1-1 directs help to callers in mental health crisis to prevent violent outcomes.
Early Childhood Mental Health - federal funding for early intervention of childhood behavioral and psychiatric issues.
Substance Use Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women - federal funding to help pregnant women and new moms access the resources they need to treat substance use disorders.
Community Behavioral Health Centers - federally funded mental health and substance use disorder treatment centers that have 24/7 services and do not turn patients away.
The Bureau of Primary Health Care:
State Offices of Rural Health - joint state and federal offices that work to expand health care access to rural communities.
The At-Risk Rural Hospitals Program - a grant program that helps keep rural hospitals open (hello South Carolina readers).
Injury Control Research Centers - 9 federally funded research centers across the country that support the foremost American academics working to prevent various forms of injuries and violence (think gun violence, drownings, workplace incidents).
This isn’t even an exhaustive list, it’s just what I felt was most important to highlight from my morning scourge of news.
Again this is not in effect yet, and has not been officially proposed yet… which means RIGHT NOW is the time to bother your federally elected officials about it! Call your representatives and senators and voice your concerns.
I just left a voicemail of U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician who has been critical of RFK Jr. even though he voted to confirm him. His DC Office number is 202-224-5824 and I urge each of you to call him as well as your own U.S. Senators (and remember to be polite to staffers!).