Breakdown: What H-CORE Was Created to Solve—and What Its Elimination Could Mean

In April 2025, a leaked draft of the FY2026 HHS budget proposal revealed plans to eliminate the HHS Coordination Operations and Response Element (H-CORE) as part of a broader reorganization and $40 billion reduction in discretionary spending. The full leaked document can be accessed here: Leaked FY2026 HHS Budget Proposal (PDF).

The HHS Coordination Operations and Response Element (H-CORE) was established in early 2022 within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to address persistent logistical gaps in the federal government’s ability to distribute lifesaving medical countermeasures during emergencies. Its mission was clear: ensure that vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other critical tools reached the right people—quickly, equitably, and reliably.

A Direct Response to Pandemic Coordination Failures

H-CORE was created to institutionalize the success of the Countermeasures Acceleration Group (CAG), previously known as Operation Warp Speed (OWS).

Launched in May 2020 under the Trump administration, OWS was a public-private partnership that rapidly accelerated the development and initial distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. In under a year, it enabled the rollout of multiple safe and effective vaccines, including the first mRNA vaccines, through coordinated investments and logistical operations in partnership with the Department of Defense. Its speed and scope were unprecedented in U.S. health response history.

However, once the Department of Defense’s role ended and responsibility transitioned to civilian agencies, coordination challenges emerged. H-CORE was developed to retain critical operational expertise and build a permanent infrastructure to ensure future readiness.

Core Functions of H-CORE

H-CORE's responsibilities span five operational domains:

• Planning and Operational Coordination: Developing strategic deployment plans for countermeasures tailored to diverse emergency contexts.

• Supply, Production, and Distribution: Overseeing the movement of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and PPE from suppliers to endpoints.

• Analytics, Data, and IT: Using data to forecast demand, optimize distribution, and monitor fulfillment.

• Operational Technical Assistance: Providing real-time support to jurisdictions during public health emergencies.

• Security and Assurance: Safeguarding medical supply chains against threats and disruptions.

These capabilities transformed H-CORE into the federal government's logistics and coordination nerve center for health emergency response.

Since its launch, H-CORE has coordinated:

• Delivery of over 750 million COVID-19 test kits

• Shipment of 370 million N95 masks

• Distribution of 138 million courses of Paxlovid

• Deployment of 500 million at-home test kits via USPS

• Oversight of monoclonal antibody shipments during local surges (ASPR Source)

Beyond COVID: Infrastructure Modernization

In 2023, H-CORE led significant enhancements to the Health Partner Ordering Portal (HPOP)—the system used by state, tribal, territorial, and local partners to request federally distributed countermeasures.

Improvements to HPOP included:

• A more user-friendly interface

• Expanded categories for supplies and medications

• Real-time tracking and reporting for over 300,000 shipments

In 2024, the Biden administration proposed increasing H-CORE's budget to $82.8 million to expand its logistics capabilities and pilot new innovations in emergency supply chain management. (FY2024 ASPR Budget Justification)

These developments positioned H-CORE to evolve from a pandemic-era necessity into a lasting backbone of national preparedness.

Return on Investment

While H-CORE’s primary value lies in its ability to coordinate lifesaving operations, its financial return is also notable. In FY2025, H-CORE operated with a budget of $75 million. For that investment, it supported the coordination and delivery of hundreds of millions of critical medical supplies, including:

• 750 million COVID-19 test kits

• 370 million N95 masks

• 138 million courses of Paxlovid

• 500 million USPS-delivered at-home test kits

Even using conservative public health logistics estimates, the infrastructure costs of independently sourcing, tracking, and distributing these resources across 50 states and U.S. territories would far exceed H-CORE’s budget.

Additionally, H-CORE modernized the Health Partner Ordering Portal (HPOP), improving real-time coordination, reducing administrative burdens on states, and lowering per-unit delivery delays. This level of operational efficiency—especially when contrasted with pre-pandemic supply chain failures—has saved not only dollars but lives.

In public health terms, the ability to reduce days or weeks from countermeasure delivery timelines represents a high-value, low-cost insurance policy. The federal investment in H-CORE has yielded outsized returns in both preparedness and execution.

What’s at Stake in the FY2026 Budget

The leaked FY2026 HHS budget proposes eliminating H-CORE entirely, citing a broader $40 billion cut to discretionary programs. In FY2025, H-CORE operated with a $75 million budget. (ASPR Budget)

The budget also proposes folding ASPR—including H-CORE—into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, there is no clear indication whether CDC would preserve H-CORE’s specialized logistics infrastructure or absorb its functions into broader public health operations.

Why H-CORE Matters Now

In a world of increasingly frequent and complex disasters, eliminating a unit like H-CORE poses serious risks:

• Slower and less coordinated emergency distribution of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics

• Disrupted state-federal coordination, especially for supply requests and fulfillment

• Reduced equity in access, as smaller jurisdictions compete for resources

• Longer response times in national public health emergencies

H-CORE’s performance during COVID-19 helped avoid these outcomes. Without a replacement, the U.S. could revert to a slower, decentralized logistics model with fewer tools for real-time response.

Final Thought

H-CORE was more than a crisis-era fix—it was a strategic investment in national health security. Its elimination would create a critical void at a time when speed, coordination, and equity are essential to protecting public health.

As hurricane season approaches and the risk of future outbreaks grows, dismantling one of the only federal entities dedicated to medical countermeasure logistics sends the wrong message—and could leave communities unprepared when the next emergency arrives.

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