DHHS outlines 2025 legislative wins and FY26 $8.7 billion budget

Alyssa Smales, assistant director in the office of legislative affairs, summarized how the 2025 legislative session affected the Department of Health and Human Services and contracted providers. "Over the course of the session 9 10 bills were numbered," Smales said, and reported that "DHHS fiscal year '26, we have an $8,700,000,000 budget that's including Medicaid." She added the legislature provided $30.7 million in ongoing general fund and $13 million in one-time general fund for priorities tracked by the department.

Smales listed several bills she described as high-priority for DHHS: SB297 (congregate care amendments, creating a congregate care advisory committee and directing Office of Licensing to set minimum safety requirements), HB347 (social services program amendments), HB534 (adult protective services authority to make substantiated findings when documents are withheld), HB33 (child welfare reporting amendments; DCFS must notify law enforcement when a person knowingly makes false reports; effective 2025-05-07), SB24 (child abuse and torture amendments, reclassifying child torture as a violent felony), and SB57 (newborn relinquishment expanded to 90 days and related funding and education updates). smales said about 63% of DHHS's budget request received some level of funding and that it was a "tight budget year."

Why this matters: the allocations and statutory changes Smales outlined are likely to affect reimbursement rates, program eligibility and compliance requirements for DHHS contractors. The department tracked 165 bills this session, and providers should review the posted bills and the department’s guidance for implementation timelines and amended contract terms.