The newly approved federal spending bill contains many reasons for Catholic health care providers to rejoice, even if it doesn't include all the proposals CHA supported, leaders of the association say.
Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, president and CEO of CHA, called the measure an important step toward making sure people can get the care they need when they need it.
"By strengthening Medicaid and Medicare, supporting mothers and children, expanding access to behavioral health care, and investing in rural communities, Congress is helping protect access to health care for patients and families across the country — especially those facing the greatest challenges," Sr. Mary said.
Congress passed the consolidated appropriations bill and President Donald Trump signed it into law on Feb. 3. It includes $116.6 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services and extensions for many programs once thought to be at risk. The final congressional vote on the bill was in the House, where the measure got the support of 196 Republicans and 21 Democrats.
"This is a bipartisan bill," Lucas Swanepoel, CHA's vice president of advocacy and public policy, noted. "I think we often see better outcomes and stronger outcomes for communities when our members of Congress are working together, and I think this bill really shows the value of that."
He and Sr. Mary pointed to several welcome provisions of the bill:
- Medicare telehealth flexibilities were extended through 2027. These flexibilities allow Medicare patients to access virtual care for many needs, including mental health issues.
- Coverage of the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative was continued through Sept. 30, 2030. This model of care lets patients with acute conditions such as pneumonia get hospital-level care at home.
- Scheduled cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital allotments were eliminated through Sept. 30, 2027. The payments go to hospitals that serve a high percentage of Medicaid and uninsured patients.
- Federal programs got more funding to study preterm births and improve outcomes for premature infants; to expand the scope of state maternal mortality review committees; and to more regularly disseminate best practices for maternal care.
Telehealth gains footing
Swanepoel said remote care, such as through telehealth and Acute Hospital Care at Home, proved to be a game changer for health care providers and patients during the COVID pandemic by offering the option for treatment outside traditional care sites.
"In many ways, COVID required us to learn how to do this, and Catholic health care providers across the country really stepped up and either built their own telehealth systems, purchased them or cooperated with them," he said. "But it has now become a critical part of the health care infrastructure."
Especially for rural areas, where access to medical specialists otherwise would mean a long drive, telehealth offers a vital lifeline for patients, Swanepoel said. Even better than extending coverage for telehealth care, he said, would have been making the coverage permanent federal policy, so there would be certainty around the care delivery method for the long haul.
Other parts of the legislation that Swanepoel cited as highlights were continued funding for health care workforce training programs and extensions of the Hyde and Weldon amendments that prevent taxpayer funding for abortion and allow providers to opt out of abortion services based on their beliefs.
Enhanced premium subsidies lapse
A major provision that CHA had hoped to see in the legislation or passed by Congress on its own was an extension of the enhanced premium subsidies for people who get health care coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The marketplace started under the Affordable Care Act. The premium subsidies were put in place during the pandemic to make insurance more affordable, and they lapsed last year.
"We're obviously continuing to advocate for the extension and renewal of them," Swanepoel said. "The fact that they didn't get done we believe is a big mistake not only for providers, but more importantly for the millions of Americans that rely on the enhanced premium tax credit."
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 21.8 million people, or 93% of those who accessed insurance through the marketplace in February 2025, got subsidized premiums.