A leaked draft of the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal shows additional cuts to oral health-related programs.
The document provides a look at potential changes to several health and social service programs, including structural adjustments, new agencies and funding cuts for the CDC and the National Institute of Health.
Under the proposal, the HHS Department’s overall discretionary funding would be cut from $116.8 billion to $80.4 billion.
Rachel Cauley, a spokesperson for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, told Politico that “no final funding decisions have been made.” Changes could still be made to the budget as the White House prepares to send a formal budget proposal to Congress for approval.
The American Dental Education Association pointed out in an April 23 newsletter that these proposed budget cuts would affect oral healthcare in several ways.
Six notes on how the proposed budget could affect oral healthcare:
1. The proposal outlines the establishment of the Administration for a Healthy America, a $20 billion agency that would consolidate several programs, including the Health Resources and Services Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
2. Several workforce programs would be eliminated under the proposal, including the Faculty Loan Repayment Program, the Public Health Workforce Development program and the Training in Oral Health program.
3. The National Institute of Health’s budget would be cut by about 40%, slashing it from more than $47 billion down to $27 billion.
4. The NIH’s 27 institutes and centers would also be consolidated into eight, with some being cut all together.
5. The National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research would be consolidated with the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Eye Institute to create the National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research.
6. Similar structural changes under the NIH were previously proposed in June 2024, garnering pushback from the ADEA, which had urged the Committee on Appropriations and the House of Representatives to reject the recommendation.