House Appropriations Committee approves HHS funding bill

The House Appropriations Committee yesterday voted 30-21 to approve legislation that would provide $153 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies in fiscal year 2016, $3.7 billion less than this year. Among other provisions, the bill would terminate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and rescind funding for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation. AHA had urged the committee to reject both provisions, and more than 140 other organizations, including the AHA’s American Organization of Nurse Executives subsidiary, had urged the committee not to terminate AHRQ. The bill would provide $71.3 billion for HHS programs, an increase of $298 million from FY 2015. Funding levels include more than $6 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration, with $265 million for the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Program and $102 million for the Healthy Start program, the same as this year. Other provisions include $7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a $140 million increase; $31.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a $1.1 billion increase; and $3.6 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a $23 million increase. The bill is likely to go to the House floor next month.