Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Category: Member News
Greetings from Washington, D.C., where cold weather and early snow flurries have us dreaming of a White Christmas, the first since 2009. But in the halls of Congress, things are heating up as the Senate and the House are now only weeks away from their self-imposed deadline of January 30th to pass the 2026 appropriations bills – or risk another shutdown.
Congress reopened in November after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. To get to a deal, Senate Republicans had to promise a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax subsidies. This vote was held on December 11, and as expected, the extension was voted down. Millions of people are expected to see spikes in their premiums as early as January.
This focus on “affordability” and the ACA has taken attention away from the appropriations bills. The bill we’re waiting for is Labor-HHS, which is typically the last appropriations bill that gets passed because it has the most controversial elements. However, so far, Senate committees seem to be rejecting the cuts in the House version of the bill. So, we are cautiously optimistic that certain items – like disability and rehabilitation research – will remain funded.
States have started grappling with the implementation of the “Big, Beautiful, Bill,” passed over the summer, which includes Medicaid work requirements for some populations and cuts federal government support of food stamps, leaving states to pick up more of the cost. We expect Medicaid enrollees (one in five Americans) and SNAP beneficiaries (one in eight Americans) to start feeling the effects of these cuts soon.
In recent weeks, RESNA has been involved in the following advocacy activities:
- Joining with fellow ITEM coalition members in expressing serious concern with the final rule from CMS expanding Medicare competitive bidding to ostomy, urological supplies and orthotic braces. We believe this new rule will restrict product access and expose individuals, particularly those with spinal cord injuries, to ill-fitting, generic products that are not clinically prescribed and personally fitted for them by their care providers.
- Signing on to a Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition letter thanking the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees for their long-standing support of disability and medical rehabilitation research and urging them to fully fund these programs in the Labor-HSS bill.
On December 17th, RESNA joined NCART, iNRRTS, Clinicians Task Force and U.S. Rehab in a webinar briefing on “The CRT Industry and What Lies Ahead in 2026.” We hope that those that attended found the information relevant and helpful.
Would you like to join RESNA’s Government Affairs Committee in 2026? All you need is an email address and an Internet connection! Contact execoffice@resna.org to sign up. Make it a New Year’s resolution to get more involved!