On June 9, the House Committee on Appropriations approved its fiscal year (FY) 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) funding bill. AMCHP is heartened that the Committee proposed increases to several maternal and child health (MCH) and public health programs, and once again rejected the proposed reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). However, we are concerned that the bill still advances cuts to critical MCH programs and entities, including Healthy Start and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). These reductions threaten the health and well-being of mothers, children, and families nationwide at a time when the country continues to battle unacceptable infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates. The text of the legislation, before amendment adoptions, along with the accompanying report, is available for review.   

Select funding proposals in the bill include: 

Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) 

• $838.976 million for the Title V MCH Block Grant, including:  
  • $604.584 million for the state formula fund, an increase of $11.276 million above FY26 
  • $224.116 million for the Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS), an increase of $9 million above FY26 to establish new Congressionally-directed set-aside programs 
  • $10.276 million for Community Integrated Service Systems, level funding with FY26 
• $10 million for the Maternal Mental Health Hotline, an increase of $1 million above FY26 
• Eliminates funding for Healthy Start 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

• $199.46 million for NCBDDD, a decrease of $5.6 million below FY26 levels, including: 
  • $25 million for CDC’s Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies (SET-NET), an increase of $2 million above FY26 levels 
• $115.5 million, an increase of $2 million above FY26, for the Safe Motherhood/Infant Health line which funds programs such as ERASE MM (federal support for maternal mortality review committees), Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQCs), the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Systems (PRAMS), and more

Sustained investment in MCH programs is critical to ensuring that states and communities can continue advancing evidence-based solutions and strengthening the systems that support mothers, children, and families. AMCHP continues to press for robust funding for the multitude of federally-supported MCH programs, including the aforementioned programs, and our Government Affairs Team will continue to follow the FY27 appropriations process and provide additional updates. To hear more on the policy developments impacting MCH, please register for the AMCHP Policy & Partnership Town Hall Series. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Government Affairs Team with questions: Sherie Lou Santos (ssantos@amchp.org), Gabrielle Galusha (ggalusha@amchp.org), Kylie Foster (kfoster@amchp.org), and Leslie Omeire (lomeire@amchp.org).