Federal Update: What We Know – As of Now – for Aging Services (Ju... July 8, 2025 | 2:19 PM EDT Learn more about Federal Update: What We Know – As of Now – for Aging Services (July 2025 Update)

The U.S. Congress recently passed President Trump’s domestic policy agenda through a reconciliation process.  The bill was signed into law on July 4.  The main parts of this bill are to extend the 2017 tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and will increase taxes for the lowest-income Americans.

In addition, the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in U.S. history will go into effect, affecting millions of individuals who will lose health insurance, costing New York State more than $10 billion, severely undermining the health care and long-term care infrastructure that relies on Medicaid funding, and more. Nationwide, SNAP cuts are expected to provide 6-9 billion fewer meals. The emergency food networks, nor NYSOFA, will be able to fill the gap.

The federal budget process is different from the reconciliation process and requires federal agencies to propose their own budgets, which then ultimately get voted on in Congress. While the bill signed on July 4 is now the law, the federal agency appropriations requests are not and there is still time to weigh in on these proposals. They will go into effect, once passed, on October 1.

As we have reported, the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) budget proposal for FY 26 (October 2025 to September 2026) targets programs and services administered at the state level by NYSOFA under the Older Americans Act, as well as other programs and services that affect older adults in New York State across agencies and sectors.

Please note that this federal update remains fluid, based on information reported to or obtained by NYSOFA at this time, and is subject to change.

Reconciliation Bill Signed on July 4

The following reductions are part of the reconciliation bill signed on July 4 and have an enormous economic and social impact on older adults:

• Medicaid cuts of over $1 trillion, amounting to an estimated $13.5 billion in cuts to New York State.
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit and outreach cuts ($300 billion in nationwide cuts) would have an impact of $2.1 billion in food security assistance to New Yorkers. As mentioned earlier, national data estimates the SNAP benefit reductions will mean 6 to 9 billion fewer meals, once enacted, placing additional demands on nutrition services across programs, including pressure on NYSOFA meal programs.
• The SNAP cuts also include reductions to SNAP education through NYSOFA (a $2.5 million impact). SNAP-Ed NY is a statewide program that teaches people how to shop for and cook healthy meals on a limited budget. NYSOFA’s role in the program includes digital and in-person education. SNAP-Ed is administered through the collaboration and efforts of 17 community-based organizations and three state agencies, with programs reaching over 182,000 participants annually. NYSOFA SNAP-Ed funding employs 29 educators and coordinators. More broadly, SNAP-Ed funding supports approximately 250-300 jobs across New York State, including nutrition educators, program coordinators, community outreach workers, and support staff. These community-based jobs contribute to local economies and help sustain nonprofit and public sector employment.
   

Federal Budget Proposals 

The following programs are slated for funding changes in the Fiscal Year 2026 federal budget proposal. These are proposals; they are subject to negotiations in Congress and, therefore, could change substantially.

• Home-Delivered Meals and Congregate Meals, which would see a small increase in the FY 2026 federal budget proposal – $40 million nationwide. Note: The Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP) is proposed to be decreased by $48 million nationwide. NSIP provides grants to support congregate and home-delivered nutrition programs by providing an incentive to serve more meals. NYSOFA administers the largest nutrition program for older adults in the country, providing over 20 million meals to older adults annually, promoting health and independence.
• Elimination of Title V – The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which helps individuals age 55+ access employment and teach employment skills. This elimination would be effective in the upcoming program year (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027). The loss in funding – based on this year’s allocation – would be $5,145,705. Seventy-five percent of this funding goes directly to SCSEP participants and would impact approximately 450 to 500 individuals, not to mention the many community-based organizations and governmental entities that serve as host agencies and utilize the labor of the SCSEP participants.
• Elimination of Title IIID – Evidence-based programs to improve overall health, manage chronic conditions, prevent falls, etc.
• Elimination of Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs(CDSMPs) to help older adults manage their conditions and remain healthy.
• Elimination of The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which provides financial assistance to states, territories, and tribes to support services aimed at alleviating poverty and improving the conditions of low-income communities.
• Cuts to Alzheimer’s disease research; rural hospital grants; mental health and substance abuse programs, including overdose prevention; health care workforce programs; and food banks.

Programs Targeted But Reportedly Restored – For Now

Notably, the following NYSOFA-administered programs were originally slated for elimination in prior iterations of the federal budget proposal but have reportedly been restored – for now – in the most recent analysis and reports provided to NYSOFA.

NYSOFA continues to monitor potential impacts on these critical programs given the fluid nature of federal actions and the upcoming federal budget process.

• Title VII – the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, which provides staff and volunteers for nursing homes and residential facilities to assure quality of care on behalf of the residents.
• Lifespan Respite to provide respite services to individuals caring for someone else.
• State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)/Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program (HIICAP) – programs that provide objective information and assistance to help individuals on Medicare choose their coverage and prescription plans, problem solve, assist with benefit applications, etc.

NYSOFA Actions to Date

Earlier this year, prior to these recent domestic policy actions, NYSOFA conducted a statewide, county-by-county and Congressional District analysis of what the impact would be if federal funds were entirely lost – a baseline analysis. This analysis provided a worst-case scenario (recognizing the fluid nature of budget negotiations). Since that time, the proposed federal budget and domestic policy legislation in Congress have provided further details as referenced above. (See our March, April and May articles.)

While Older Americans Act funds have the most direct impact on NYSOFA-administered programs and services, NYSOFA is closely monitoring other federal funding that helps older adults and their families across major safety nets, like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, as well as programs for low-income older adults, like food assistance (SNAP, food pantries). Cuts to these programs will significantly impact older adults’ health, housing, and economic security.

NYSOFA has worked closely with Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and the Association on Aging in New York (AgingNY) to share the above analyses (in direct communications and in forums like the recent Aging Concerns Unite Us Conference).

AgingNY has also created a portal on its website for engaging with members of Congress to rebut false characterizations of safety-net programs and reinforce their value as lifelines to help people live independently, with dignity and with a level of security in retirement. (See AgingNY/partner advocacy messaging at https://agingny.org.)

The impact of recent federal actions is still being assessed. It is worth stressing, again, that the reconciliation bill recently passed by Congress is not the federal budget. The President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget is a separate process that commands attention and response, as the federal fiscal year begins October 1.