Skip to main content

You’re not alone. Call 988 to connect to the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Join Us    |    Contact

CEO Update 253

2026 NABH Annual Meeting Update: Engage in Future-forward Leadership!

NABH is pleased to report the 2026 NABH Annual Meeting Program Committee has chosen Future-forward Leadership: Imagine. Innovate. Transform. as the theme of our next Annual Meeting at the Washington, DC-Ritz Carlton from March 2-4, 2026.
 
Our thanks to 2026 Annual Meeting Program Chair Cindy Meyer, M.S.S.W. from Rogers Behavioral Health and Program Committee Members Andrew Gerber, M.D., Ph.D., from Silver Hill Hospital and Lori Scharff, L.I.C.S.W. from Boys Town Behavioral Health Division for their constructive feedback in planning next year’s program.
 
NABH reported in last week’s CEO Update that we’re revising our Annual Meeting format in 2026 and will introduce Breakout Sessions to engage attendees during the meeting in between the General Sessions.
 
If you haven’t done so yet, please answer this one-question survey and rank the listed issue areas from your greatest priority (1) to your lowest priority (8).
 
Thank you for your time, and please read upcoming issues of CEO Update for more 2026 Annual Meeting information.

Trump Signs Spending Bill that Extends Certain Healthcare Policies Through January 2026

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end Thursday evening when President Trump signed into law a short-term spending package to fund the government through Jan. 30, 2026, and provide full-year appropriations (until Sept. 30, 2026) for the U.S. Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Departments and legislative operations.
 
The Continuing Resolution, or CR, also included several healthcare extenders but failed to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that expire at the end of this year. Appropriators will need to work immediately to avert another shutdown cliff in just two months.
 
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) promised to give Democrats a vote on the expiring marketplace subsidies in December. With Republicans largely against the ACA, the measure is not expected to pass in the Senate. However, negotiations are underway in the House and Senate to develop a compromise before the subsidies expire at the end of the year.
 
GOP moderates would like to see the subsidies extended at least temporarily with some additional guardrails, while GOP hardliners have sought to steer conversation away from the enhanced premium tax credits in favor of more sweeping alternative proposals that could reshape U.S. health insurance markets.
 
The CR extended major healthcare-related policies extended through Jan. 30, 2026. The new law:

  • Funds community health centers.
  • Resumes inpatient payments for Medicare low-volume hospitals and Medicare-dependent hospital payments.
  • Delays Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment cuts enacted under the ACA.
  • Extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities through Jan. 30 and retroactively extends the flexibilities to when the programs had lapsed on Oct. 1.
  • Exempts the package from statutory PAYGO (Pay-as-You-Go) and Senate PAYGO requirements to prevent Medicare sequestration cuts.
  • Funds implementation of the No Suprises Act with a boost of $14 million.

The CR also includes three yearlong funding bills, collectively called a “minibus,” which fund the U.S. Agriculture Department, Legislative Branch Operations, and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs (VA). For the last of those three areas, the bill allocates $37 billion on non-VA medical care by private doctors, a record amount of funding from VA medical services to [non-VA] community care.

Trump Administration Proposes Cuts to Housing Grants; Shifts Funds to Program that Prioritizes Work Requirements and SUD Treatment

The Trump administration this week announced a shift of billions of dollars from housing aid for the nation’s homeless population to short-term programs that would impose work rules, help the police dismantle encampments, and require homeless individuals to accept treatment for mental illness or substance use disorders.
 
On Thursday, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) released a 128-page notice and grant opportunity about this major change in policy that would allocate about $3.9 billion in a new Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. The program is intended to quickly rehouse homeless individuals, families, persons fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and youth while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness; to promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and to optimize self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness.
 
The notice includes grant program criteria that seeks “management, substance use treatment, mental health treatment, and employment assistance) will ensure that the participant is able to successfully obtain self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness.”

Kellogg to Host Webinar on AI Adoption for Business Leaders on Friday, Nov. 21

Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management will host a webinar titled The Insightful Leader Live: Drive Smarter Adoption with the 3 As of AI next week to help businesses avert common pitfalls and make the most of AI.
 
Kellogg experts will provide strategic solutions to help leaders audit existing workflows; identify where and when AI is most needed; and determine how it can be most effective. Panelists will also highlight three “As” of AI: Automate, which uses AI to handle repetitive tasks and improve efficiencies; Augment, which uses to AI to amplify human creativity and decision-making; and Analyze, which leverages AI to better understand and process large amounts of data to gain insight and support data-driven decision-making.
 
The webinar begins at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 21. Click here to register.

Please Submit Your Updates for NABH’s Online Membership Directory

NABH asks all members to submit any changes to their organization’s profiles for the association’s Membership Directory, which we publish online only.
 
Your system’s information is the critical data we need to provide a more accurate description of our members to policymakers, regulators, and the media in our advocacy efforts.
 
To help ensure we have the most accurate member information, please use the link to our membership update tool that was sent in September to all system members and verify your system’s information. Please be sure to enter information on all of your system’s facilities so that we have a better picture of our diverse membership.
 
Please contact Maria Merlie at maria@nabh.org or 202-393-6700, ext. 104 for assistance or if you require the membership update tool link to be resent. Thank you for your time.

Fact of the Week

A new study published in JAMA study found that 13% of surveyed youth between the 12-21 years old said they used generative AI for mental health advice.
 
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.