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February 20, 2026 | Vol. MMXXVI | Issue 149 |
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In this edition:
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Public Health |
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CDC Grants – The Administration is trying to revoke more than $660 million in public health grants that were awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The awards had originally totaled about $1.4 billion, and about half of that had already been spent. A total of 108 awards were sent to California (which had the most funding), Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota for a variety of public health initiatives, including STD prevention, public health workforce improvements, academic research into public health preparedness, and public health issues impacting minorities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has publicly said that these grants are being terminated because they don’t reflect agency priorities. The four states sued HHS and were granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) from a district court judge, halting the termination of the funding for now.
On February 13, 77 Democratic Members of Congress sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. urging the Administration to immediately restore the funding. They warn that revoking this funding during the current measles outbreak is especially concerning, as many of the grants are intended to help states with public health preparedness and stemming infectious diseases.
ACIP Meeting – The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has indefinitely postponed an upcoming meeting. ACIP was supposed to meet February 25 through 27 and expected to discuss mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Secretary Kennedy has been a vocal opponent of mRNA vaccines and canceled $500 million in mRNA vaccine research last year. |
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Key Takeaways |
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Because California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota have Democratic leadership, the states in their lawsuit posit that HHS’ grant termination is politically motivated. The four states specifically mention that the Trump Administration “has made numerous attempts to strip funds from programs in States whose policies it disagrees with” and “three of the four Plaintiff States—California, Illinois, and Minnesota—have seen large public protests in response to aggressive federal immigration operations. In two Plaintiff States, Illinois and California, the administration’s response was to retaliate by unlawfully federalizing the National Guard in those States, ostensibly pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 12406. The States successfully challenged those deployments in court.” |
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Plain Language |
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The Administration wants to take away funding that the government already gave out for health projects. They want to take away more than $660 million that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave to projects and programs in California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota. The funding was for many different public health projects like getting more people to work in healthcare, researching how to be prepared for different public health issues (like COVID-19 or the flu), keeping people safe from getting diseases that are spread through sex, and improving health for people who don't usually get a lot of help from the government (this includes people who are Black, LGBTQ, women, Native Americans, and many more types of people). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that the grants are being ended because they don't go towards issues that the Administration cares very much about.
California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota sued the Administration because of this issue. This means they want the Administration to change what it is doing, so they went to the court of law. They said that the Administration is taking the money away because people in the Administration have different politics (beliefs about policy) than the leaders in their states. They say that they are going against the Administration's immigration policy, so the Administration is mad at them and trying to get back at them, which is not allowed, according to the law. Immigration is when people leave the country they are from and go to another country.
When these four states sued HHS, a judge gave them a temporary restraining order, which means the judge said the Administration has to pause on taking back the money—for now.
Last week, 77 Democrats in Congress sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. pushing HHS to give the funding back. They said they are worried that so much public health funding is being taken away during a measles outbreak. Measles is a disease that can kill people. An outbreak is when there are a lot of people who get a disease. |
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Department of Health and Human Services Leadership |
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – This week, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya was named acting CDC Director after HHS Secretary Kennedy removed Jim O’Neill as acting CDC Director. Jim O’Neill is expected to be appointed to lead the National Science Foundation. Dr. Bhattacharya is also the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Acting directors of agencies are typically expected to serve for a short period while an Administration works to get their nominee confirmed to lead an agency. Susan Monarez was previously the Senate-confirmed Director of the CDC, but she was fired in August 2025.
Surgeon General – On February 25, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Casey Means to serve as the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General typically educates Americans on how to improve their health and reduce risk of illness and injury. Casey Means was previously supposed to appear before the HELP Committee last October, but the hearing was postponed due to Means’ pregnancy. |
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Plain Language |
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – This week, HHS Secretary Kennedy fired Jim O'Neill as acting CDC Director. When someone is the "acting" Director, it means they are not going to stay in that job for very long. They are only doing the job until the Administration can find someone for the job who will be in it for a while. The Senate has to agree on the Director of the CDC before they can be the official Director. Last year, the Senate agreed on making Susan Monorez the CDC Director, but Secretary Kennedy fired her. Ever since then, Jim O'Neill has been in charge of CDC. Now, Jim O'Neill is expected to be in charge of a different part of the Administration.
Secretary Kennedy made Dr. Jay Bhattacharya the new acting CDC Director. Dr. Bhattacharya is already the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is also in HHS. Being in charge of both CDC and NIH will be a very big job for him.
Surgeon General – President Trump chose Casey Means to be the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General gives Americans advice on how to make their health better and not get sick or hurt. On February 25, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing, which is a public meeting, to talk about Casey Means. They will talk about whether or not they think she should be the Surgeon General. She was supposed to do this hearing last year, but she was about to have a baby, so they rescheduled. |
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Home and Community-Based Services Report |
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established a workgroup to review the Quality Measure Set for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), which is a set of nationally standardized measures for states across the country to measure the quality of HCBS. The Medicaid Access Rule mandated that CMS establish this workgroup, which includes representatives from organizations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. CMS contracted with Mathematica (a company that does research and evaluation) to convene the 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set Review Workgroup, which released a new report of the 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set Review. The report recommended adding four measures to the Quality Measure Set and removing three measures.
To add:
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The Percentage of People who Report that They Know Whom to Talk to if they Want to Change Services
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Percentage of People Who Know Whom to Contact if They Have a Complaint about Their Services
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Percentage of People Who Have Access to Mental Health Services if They Want Them
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Percentage of People Who Have Needed Assistive Equipment and Devices
To remove:
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Fee-for-service (FFS) long-term services and supports (LTSS)/managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS)-1: Comprehensive Assessment and Update
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FFS LTSS/MLTSS-2: Comprehensive Person-Centered Plan and Update
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FFS LTSS/MLTSS-3: Shared Person-Centered Plan with Primary Care Provider
These measures are about whether the HCBS recipient had a timely assessment and person-centered service plan. They are also about whether that service plan is shared with the primary care provider in a timely manner.
The measures the workgroup recommended to remove were chosen because they “assess compliance rather than quality of care” and “the value of these measures is not worth the high administrative burden states will experience collecting and reporting them.”
CMS will consider the workgroup’s recommendations and will publish a proposed draft of any changes they want to make to the 2028 HCBS Quality Measure Set in the Federal Register for public comment in late 2025. States are required to report measures from the HCBS Quality Measure Set every other year starting in 2028. |
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Key Takeaways |
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Starting in 2027, states will be expected to comply with the Medicaid work requirements that were established in H.R.1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill). This bill forces states into cutting services and will make people meet even more onerous administrative requirements to prove that they are meeting work requirements or are eligible for an exemption. States are expected to shoulder the implementation of these requirements; already, New Jersey has awarded a $7.5 million contract to consultants to help support the state government’s compliance efforts. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that H.R.1 will increase the number of people who are uninsured by 10 million. |
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Plain Language |
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The Quality Measure Set for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) is a tool that states use to see if people are getting quality HCBS. It is a long list that states check to get information on the experiences of people who get HCBS. When people use the Quality Measure Set, they are trying to figure out what is working in HCBS in their state, and what is not working.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) worked with a company to pull together a group of people to review the Quality Measure Set. This group worked together to look at the Quality Measure Set and decide if anything needed to change. The group included people who work for organizations that advocate for people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. They made a new report on the Quality Measure Set with advice on what to change about it for 2028. This group recommended that CMS get rid of three things on the checklist and add four things. The things they wanted CMS to remove were things that they felt would make more work for states and would make people do more paperwork. The things they wanted CMS to add were about getting more information about whether people with HCBS know all of their rights and resources and how many people have the tools they need to get around.
This is an important report because it is about a tool that states across the country need to use to make sure people who get HCBS are getting good care. Next, CMS will review the report and see if they want to make the suggested changes to the Quality Measure Set. Then, they will write a draft for people to comment on.
Starting in 2027, states will have to do a lot more administrative work (organizing, doing paperwork, and keeping track of information). This is because of H.R.1, the law that passed last year and is also called the One Big Beautiful Bill. H.R.1 says that people who are 19-64 years old have to provide proof that they are working in order to get their Medicaid. This is called work requirements and is sometimes called community engagement requirements. It will be hard for states to keep track of information and make sure they are following the law. It will not be fair to people with Medicaid—many people will lose their healthcare.
State governments will have to spend more money to do administrative work. Already, New Jersey has decided to pay $7.5 million to a company that will help them keep track of work requirement information. |
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New Legislation
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The Improving Access to Nutrition Act (H.R.7522)
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Introduced by Representative Alma Adams (D-NC)
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Would repeal the work requirement that disqualifies able-bodied adults for eligibility to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
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You can read Rep. Adams’ press release here.
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The Modernize SSI Stipends Act (H.R.7573)
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Introduced by Representative Maxine Dexter (D-OR)
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Would double—and update over time—the Personal Needs Allowances (PNAs) certain seniors and people with disabilities receive through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program
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You can read Rep. Dexter’s press release here.
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The Improving Housing Access Act (H.R.7596)
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Introduced by Representative Michael Lawler (R-NY)
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Would direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct, within one year of enactment, a study identifying options to remove barriers and improve housing for elderly individuals and people with disabilities
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You can read Rep. Lawler’s press release here.
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S.3886
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H.R.7598
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Plain Language |
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There are a few new bills in the U.S. Congress.
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The Improving Access to Nutrition Act would help more people afford food. It would get rid of a work requirement in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
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The Modernize SSI Stipends Act would give more money to some people with disabilities and older adults who get Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
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The Improving Housing Access Act would make the government do research about how to help older adults and people with disabilities get housing.
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A bill to make rules about how many nurses need to be working in nursing homes every day
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A bill to make sure veterans with disabilities get money from the government if they borrowed money to pay for a house. A veteran is someone who used to be in the military.
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AUCD Story Collection |
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AUCD is collecting stories from the Network on a variety of topics to amplify the effects of this Administration on real people and our programs. If you have a story, we want to hear it.
We are interested in stories about:
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Medicaid and its impact on people's lives
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The impact of dismantling ACL
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The important work of UCEDDs, LENDs, IDDRCs, PNS’s, DD Councils, P&As
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The impact of zeroing out UCEDDs, LENDs, IDDRCs, PNS’s, DD Councils, P&As
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Impact of grants that are being cut
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Stories responding to RFK Jr.’s claims about autism or the autism registry
You can use this link to provide information and let us know if you are comfortable sharing your story with Members of Congress and their staff. |
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AUCD Policy Blog |
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AUCD invites Network members to fill out this form if you’re interested in writing for the AUCD policy blog. We are open to a variety of issues areas, and we will follow up with you as relevant issues come up that we’d like you to write about. Read past blog posts here. |
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Disability Policy for All with Liz |
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Join Liz on Instagram Reels, where she provides plain language updates on policy, highlighting current issues and hot topics in federal disability policy.
Liz Weintraub is AUCD's Senior Advocacy Specialist and the host of “Disability Policy for All with Liz.” She has extensive experience practicing leadership in self-advocacy and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations, including the Council on Quality & Leadership (CQL) and the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council.
Watch Liz’s most recent video on Executive Orders here. |
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Words to Know |
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Veteran
A person who used to be in the military.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
A government program that gives money every month to some people with disabilities and older adults who don’t have a lot of money.
Community Engagement Requirements
When someone engages with their community, it can mean that they work, go to school, volunteer, or take care of someone. Community engagement requirements are another term that is used to talk about work requirements, which is when you have to prove that you are working, going to school, volunteering, or taking care of someone in order to get some benefits. |
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