HHS budget proposal eliminates CDC’s chronic disease, global health centers in favor of new “MAHA” agency

The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a significant restructuring of its budget for the 2026 fiscal year. The plan involves consolidating the department’s 28 divisions into 15, in order to establish a new “institution of public health” called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). This new agency, with a budget of $20.6 billion, is aimed at supporting Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.

One of the key changes proposed in the budget is the transfer of funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the AHA. This includes a substantial reduction in funding for the CDC’s chronic disease and global health centers, as well as some institutes under the National Institutes of Health. The AHA intends to take a “root cause” approach to chronic disease prevention, which will involve cutting funding for existing primary care, mental health, and environmental health programs within the CDC.

The budget request also includes a 40% reduction in funding for the National Institutes of Health and the dissolution of agencies like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources Service Administration. According to HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard, these reforms are necessary to address the escalating healthcare costs in the United States and improve overall health outcomes.

However, critics have raised concerns about the impact of these budget cuts on public health programs at the state and local levels. State and local health departments heavily rely on discretionary funding from the CDC, and any reduction in CDC funding could destabilize public health systems and jeopardize progress made in disease prevention and management.

Furthermore, the proposed elimination of the CDC’s Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has drawn criticism from organizations like the American Heart Association and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. These organizations argue that the programs in the center play a crucial role in preventing and managing diseases at the community level, and their removal could have far-reaching consequences.

In addition to changes in chronic disease prevention, the budget request also eliminates the CDC’s Global Health Center and reallocates funds for global health protection under a broader CDC-Wide Activities budget line. This decision, along with other cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and research programs, has raised concerns about the country’s ability to respond to global health threats like infectious diseases.

Before the budget is finalized, it will undergo review by congressional subcommittees, with the House and Senate preparing their own budget resolutions later in the year. The proposed changes in funding and program restructuring will likely continue to be a topic of debate and scrutiny as lawmakers consider the implications for public health in the United States.