November 25, 2025

Bringing you the latest news impacting our network from Congress and the Administration.

Implementation of Medicaid Changes: Now What?  Housing Legislation and Funding Updates: Take Action

Recent LSA Policy Efforts

Policy Priorities and Implementation of H.R. 1 Medicaid Provisions

Our policy team has been meeting with key committee staff from both parties, including senior staff members for the Senate Committees on Finance and Aging, to share our policy priorities and request action on workforce, health and housing, and Medicaid concerns.  Our Ask: As we anticipate upcoming hearings on these issues, please share stories of impacts related to changes to Medicaid policy with us.

To inform the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of our concerns related to the implementation of the Medicaid provisions of H.R. 1 (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”), earlier this week we sent a letter on behalf of the network to support modifications and transition time for both community engagement and provider tax provisions as H.R. 1 is implemented. Our Ask: Please use this letter as a guide to support your own advocacy at the state level with your Governor's and state lawmakers' offices to urge them to request the same modifications and changes.  

Now What?

Potential for Second Budget Reconciliation Package

As we continue to work with stakeholders and decision makers on the Hill and in the Administration on the ongoing rollout of H.R. 1, we are also tracking movement on a potential second “budget reconciliation” bill. While it seems increasingly unlikely that the Republican majority will reach consensus to move forward, the chairs of the Senate and House Budget committees are still working toward drafting a second budget reconciliation package. We anticipate this bill would include additional significant impacts on health care such as further cuts. Our Ask: Please continue to engage with your members of Congress to inform and educate them on the challenges of current cuts and to urge them to oppose any new cuts.  

Housing: What's Ahead?

ROAD to Housing Act

The ROAD to Housing Act, originally introduced by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), was included in the Senate-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in October 2025. In the House, their version of the NDAA was passed without the housing provisions included.  Currently, House Republicans are expressing strong opposition to including the ROAD to Housing Act in the NDAA, leaving its future in the final bill uncertain. Discussions remain ongoing, with top negotiators hoping to hold votes on the final package as early as December 2.

HUD Continuum of Care NOFO

On November 13, the Trump administration released the Fiscal Year 2025 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that shifts federal funding away from permanent housing programs and toward transitional housing programs. This move places as many as 170,000 people who rely on CoC assistance for stable, affordable housing at risk of returning to homelessness.  Additionally, because the NOFO has been released so late in the CoC funding cycle, we expect significant funding gaps and delays. The application for the next grant cycle, which is expected to open shortly, will close on January 14, two weeks before Congress will be required to determine funding levels for HUD, including the CoC program.

TAKE ACTION: We encourage you to use the online tool below, courtesy of our advocacy partner Catholic Charities USA, to contact your Senators and Representative and ask them to 1) quickly reach a bipartisan agreement on NDAA which includes the Road to Housing Act, and 2) tell the administration to renew HUD grants that were previously planned under a Congressionally authorized two-year notice of funding opportunity. 

Early Childhood Education

 The Trump administration has accelerated its plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, announcing on November 18 six new interagency agreements designed to “break up the federal education bureaucracy” and return authority to states. Early childhood education programs, including Head Start, continue to be in the spotlight. While the administration insists that dismantling the department will not cut off funding for essential programs, advocates warn that flat budgets and staff reductions could undermine Head Start’s ability to serve low-income families. 

What We're Reading

• Congressional schedule for 2026: 2026 Combined Congressional Calendar
• Medicaid: Employment and Health Burden Changes Among Medicaid Expansion Enrollees
• Medicaid: CMS issues guidance on new tax limits to close Medicaid ‘loophole’: 10 things to know 
• SNAP: What to know about expanded work requirements about to kick in for SNAP
• Nonprofit Nonpartisanship: Protecting the Johnson Amendment and Nonprofit Nonpartisanship
• LIHTCs: H.R.1’s Change to Low-Income Housing Tax Credits Might be the Best News About the New Law
• Medicaid Provider Tax: CMS Issues Medicaid Provider Tax Guidance to States
• Telemedicine: DEA signals extension of telemedicine flexibilities for controlled substance prescribing for 2026
• Rural Health Transformation Program: Turning Lemons Into Lemonade: State Applications Underscore the Limitations of OBBBA’s Rural Health Transformation Program
• Rural Health Transformation Program: Themes Emerging From Stakeholder Input
• Rural Health Transformation Tracking: Tracking State Releases of Rural Health Transformation Program Applications

For more information, please contact Sarah Dobson, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, or Bill Kallestad, Senior Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, Disability Network.