ADA-supported coalition urges robust FY 2026 funding for health workforce programs

The Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition, which includes the ADA among its more than 90 member organizations, is urging congressional appropriators to strengthen federal investments in the health workforce for fiscal year 2026.

In a Nov. 5 letter sent to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition called for “the higher amount of the House and Senate Committee-approved funding levels for each of the individual Title VII and VIII programs.” These programs, administered through the Health Resources and Services Administration, support education and training for physicians, nurses, dentists, and other health professionals.

The coalition’s letter emphasized that the agency’s Title VII and Title VIII programs “successfully recruit, train and support physicians, physician assistants, nurses, dentists, geriatricians, mental and behavioral health providers, public health practitioners, social workers and other frontline health care workers critical to addressing the nation’s health needs.” The letter also warned that “chronic underfunding for the [agency’s] Title VII and Title VIII programs will worsen health workforce shortages and hinder our nation’s ability to educate current and future providers.”

The Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition commended the Senate for maintaining funding levels for most programs and the House for increasing support for the Title VII oral health training and behavioral health workforce education and training programs, as well as the Title VIII advanced nursing education and nurse education, practice and retention programs. However, the coalition expressed concern that the House bill proposes eliminating funding for the nursing workforce diversity program and the nursing faculty loan program, and that the Senate bill includes cuts to the medical student education program.

By signing the letter, the ADA joined other health and education organizations in advocating for sustained and expanded federal funding to strengthen the pipeline of health professionals—including dentists—particularly in rural and underserved communities.

The Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition said a strong investment in the Title VII and VIII programs is “essential to helping address health workforce shortages in critical areas of need and shape the future health workforce at all stages of the continuum.”

“Congress must ensure a robust investment in the Title VII and Title VIII programs to address health workforce shortages and to prepare the health workforce for the health care demands of tomorrow. To that end, [the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition] urges you to provide the highest possible funding for [the Health Resources and Services Administration’s] Title VII and Title VIII programs,” the coalition said.