President’s 2014 Proposed Budget Calls For Increase to Overall Healthcare Spending and Major Changes to Medicare Part D

President Obama unveiled his fiscal year 2014 budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The budget contained a number of notable figures and proposals, particularly given that many pieces of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) are set to go into effect in 2014.    The new budget would provide HHS a total of $967.3 billion in outlays and $80.1 billion in discretionary spending, and it includes initiatives that aim to save $361.1 billion over a decade.  MedPage Today reported that the FY 2014 budget “is larger than the $848.2 billion actually spent in FY 2012 and the $907.8 billion estimated for FY 2013.”  Medicare would eat up 54% -- about $522 billion -- of the amount proposed for next year, while 31% would go to Medicaid, with the remainder spent on other programs.  The budget proposal includes another $1.5 billion -- in addition to the $1 billion already spent -- to get ready for the implementation of the health insurance exchanges mandated by PPACA.    Below is a summary of the major budget proposals as well as links to various stories covering next year’s budget.  As noted by the FDA Law Blog, “none of the Obama Administration proposals are automatic.  They are contingent upon the enactment of authorizing legislation, which will most certainly run into opposition in Congress.”  Interestingly, the almost $1 trillion budget comes at a time when doctors are being driven to bankruptcy.   Food and Drug A...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs