Government Funding Bill Passed This Week

This week, the House and Senate finally passed the FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill.  The legislation contains critical items, including research funding and telehealth, that can be considered positive movement for the hospice and palliative care community.  Below, you will find several specific areas of interest for members of HPNA included in the bill:

• $305.472 million for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs
• $197.693 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
  • This is notable because Congress ignored the Administration’s efforts to reorganize HHS and NIH.
• Extends COVID era telehealth waivers through December of 2027
  • Lifting geographic restrictions and maintaining the expanded list of originating sites including patients’ homes.
  • Expanding the list of distant site practitioners to include all practitioners who are eligible to bill Medicare for covered services (e.g., physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, audiologists, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors).
  • Allowing federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as distant site providers of telehealth services.
  • Allowing payment for audio-only telehealth services.
  • Extending the waiver of the requirement for practitioners who provide behavioral and mental health via telehealth to provide in-person visits within six months of the first telehealth visit and annually thereafter.
  • Extending Acute Care Hospital at Home Waiver Authorities.
  • Allowing the use of telehealth to conduct the face-to-face encounter required for recertification of eligibility for hospice care.

The approved appropriations package does not address, nor was it expected to, the “professional” degree definition for higher level student loans.  The Department of Education’s proposed rule on this was released a couple of weeks ago, and the 30-day window for submitting comments closes on March 2, 2026.

The Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) is coordinating efforts to submit comments as are several other nursing advocacy groups. HPNA will be supporting these Coalition efforts and also submitting an individual comment letter regarding the proposed rule.

Moving Forward in 2026

Looking ahead, 2026 will most likely be a quiet year for legislation because it is a mid-term election year.  Congress will be out of session more often as campaigns begin to take priority.  Having said that, there are several things for members to be aware of both with Congress and the Administration:

• The FY27 appropriations process will pick up steam in the coming weeks.
• The annual rule-making cycle will begin in the next few months.  This includes regulations impacting hospice care.

HPNA’s advocacy team thanks all members for your continued support.  We will be in touch with more information and opportunities for future advocacy engagement.