Senate subcommittee advances $1.8 billion increase for Health and Human Services budget

The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services advanced a proposed fiscal 2025–26 state budget that the chair described as a "meaningful commitment to the health and well-being of Florida residents," reporting the package to the full Senate Appropriations Committee without objection.

The proposal packages a $1,800,000,000 increase over the current base budget, the chair said, and dedicates roughly half that amount—$905,000,000—to fully funding Medicaid and kid-care programs. "Our proposed budget reflects a meaningful commitment to the health and well-being of Florida residents across all stages of life," Chair Trumbull told senators as she opened the committee’s review.

Why it matters: The draft allocates statewide health spending across both entitlement programs and targeted initiatives intended to address workforce shortages, behavioral health, veterans’ care and cancer research. Committee members adopted the package by motion and then voted to send the subcommittee’s recommendation to the full Senate committee without recorded opposition.

Key provisions and dollar amounts spelled out by the chair include: a $238,000,000 investment for 44 IT projects; reduction of 865.5 FTEs identified as sustained unfilled positions or driven by staff augmentation; a $63,000,000 base-budget reduction tied to historical reversions; $93,600,000 in Medicaid provider rate increases; $13,300,000 for developmentally disabled center facilities; $50,000,000 for recruitment and retention incentives for home- and community-based waiver direct support professionals; $38,000,000 to address caseload growth in the Guardian Assistance Program, extended foster care and adoption subsidy programs; $117,000,000 to support operations and care in state mental health treatment facilities; $34,300,000 for community mental health and substance-use prevention initiatives; and $179,500,000 earmarked for opioid treatment, prevention and recovery efforts.

The budget also includes program-level additions: $6,000,000 for the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative; $15,000,000 for Community Care for the Elderly and Home Care for the Elderly programs; $30,000,000 to support pediatric cancer center research through the newly created Cancer Connect Collaborative Research Incubator (established in a separate bill cited in the discussion as SB 7028); $4,200,000 to increase funding for breast and cervical cancer screenings; $1,000,000 for a statewide healthcare-screenings marketing campaign; $18,400,000 to support current nurse staffing levels in schools; $3,400,000 for Healthy Start coalitions; $2,000,000 for the Florida Is For Veterans program and $1,000,000 for the Veteran Dental Care Grant Program; and $19,200,000 to support State Veterans Nursing Homes, including expansion of a dementia unit at the Land O’Lakes facility.

Committee actions: Senators adopted a motion from Vice Chair Davis allowing staff to make technical adjustments to the draft and then, again by voice and without objection, voted to report the subcommittee budget recommendation to the full Senate Appropriations Committee.

Background and next steps: Committee members were given time to review details and were asked to contact staff with questions before the full committee meeting. The subcommittee’s recommendation will be considered by the full Senate Appropriations Committee as part of the larger state budget process.

Notes: Figures and program names are taken from the committee presentation; where the transcript contained typographical anomalies (for example, "acres in FTE"), the article uses the intended term (FTEs—full‑time equivalents) to preserve clarity.