Breakdown: What the Leaked HHS Budget Proposal Means for the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)

What Is the MRC and Why It Matters

The Medical Reserve Corps is a network of over 300,000 trained volunteers. These professionals—ranging from licensed clinicians to logistics and behavioral health specialists—mobilize to support health and emergency operations during disasters, disease outbreaks, and other public health events.

While MRC units are operated locally, they rely on federal funding, technical assistance, and centralized coordination to remain prepared. Their impact has been especially clear during COVID-19, when MRC volunteers helped staff vaccination sites, call centers, and mobile testing operations—often in high-need or hard-to-reach areas.

What the Leaked Budget Reveals

The draft FY2026 HHS budget proposal explicitly lists the MRC for elimination. This is not a reorganization or merger. It is a full removal of federal funding and programmatic support.

In FY2025, the MRC received $6.24 million in federal funding via the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). That funding also supports ASPR’s Coordination Operations and Response Element (H-CORE), which facilitates national deployment planning and logistics. Both are slated for elimination in the leaked proposal.

Operational Consequences

Without federal support:

• MRC units could lose access to standardized training platforms, volunteer vetting systems, credentialing databases, and coordinated deployment guidance.

• Local health departments—many already facing budget and staffing constraints—would need to absorb the full operational burden of managing and sustaining MRC units.

• Surge capacity would erode, particularly in rural and underserved areas where MRC units often fill critical response gaps.

• National interoperability would weaken. Without federal oversight, inconsistencies in training, credentialing, and liability protections would likely hinder multi-jurisdictional response efforts.

The result could be a fragmented network of unsupported volunteer groups. In a major emergency, that fragmentation could delay response, disrupt care delivery, and place added strain on already overwhelmed public health and emergency systems.

MRC in Action: Real-World Impact

The MRC has supported hundreds of emergency responses across the U.S. Recent examples include:

• COVID-19: Over 3 million volunteer hours were logged nationwide, assisting with mass vaccination, testing, outreach, and staffing shortages.

• 2023 Maui Wildfires: MRC volunteers in Hawaii supported displaced residents through shelter-based medical and behavioral health care.

• Mpox Response: Local MRC units helped with vaccination events and public education.

• Opioid Response: Units have supported harm reduction initiatives, naloxone distribution, and overdose prevention outreach.

Additional state and local examples:

• In Columbus, Ohio, MRC volunteers assisted during a power outage and played key roles in ventilator assembly and vaccine distribution. (Axios)

• In Ulster County, NY, MRC members supported shelter operations, vaccine clinics, disaster cleanup, and community event medical coverage. (Ulster County MRC)

• In Virginia, MRC volunteers logged more than 101,000 hours during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign—saving millions in staffing costs. (VDH)

These cases illustrate the MRC’s ability to deliver targeted, flexible, and trusted assistance when public health systems are stretched thin.

Return on Investment

The MRC’s value far exceeds its cost. In FY2022, MRC volunteers contributed more than 1.1 million hours nationwide. At an estimated value of $31.80 per hour, this represents more than $35 million in donated labor.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, that total surged past 3 million hours—equal to nearly $100 million in services. This was delivered on an annual federal investment of just $6.24 million. (ASPR Budget Justification)

For every dollar spent, the government received approximately $16 in return—not just in hours worked, but in preparedness, surge capacity, and public trust built at the community level.

Beyond the numbers, the MRC provides something harder to quantify: a trained, local, ready-to-deploy workforce that can mobilize quickly when needed most.

Addressing Legal Protections and Compensation

In its FY2025 budget request, HHS proposed a critical change to volunteer protection. Under current law, MRC volunteers are not covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) or the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) unless they are officially appointed and compensated. This limits liability protection and creates barriers for widespread volunteer participation during emergencies.

The proposed modification would allow MRC volunteers to be deemed federal employees solely for the purposes of FTCA and FECA coverage, even if they are unpaid. This change would enhance legal protections for volunteers and ensure they are eligible for federal support in the event of injury or legal claims arising from their service.

This fix was a long-sought adjustment to improve volunteer safety and program sustainability. With the elimination of the MRC now on the table, that long-overdue reform is unlikely to move forward—leaving unresolved liability and compensation gaps for those who step up in times of crisis.

For more than 20 years, the Medical Reserve Corps has filled a critical role in the nation's emergency response system. The proposal to eliminate it isn’t just a budgetary decision. It’s a rollback of one of the most cost-effective and community-rooted response tools in the federal arsenal.

As disasters become more frequent and complex, dismantling the MRC would be a step in the wrong direction. What communities need is more local capability - not less.

Next in this series: a closer look at H-CORE and the implications of losing ASPR’s coordination arm.

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