President Biden’s Budget PRoposal

President Biden released his budget proposal for this fiscal year on Monday. While Congress is still working on finishing last year’s budget, it’s already time to start thinking about the budget for next year. 

Here are some of the highlights from the budget proposal:

• Expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices. Currently only ten medications are subject to price negotiation. President Biden’s budget would speed up negotiations, which would allow for more prescription drugs to be negotiated and hugely increase savings for Medicare beneficiaries.

• Expand cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. The president’s proposed budget would extend the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap in Medicare Part D to all who have private insurance.

• Make permanent the expanded tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans. These increased credits saved the average enrollee $800 a year. They were created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Invest $150 billion to improve and expand Medicaid home services. This funding would also strengthen community health centers, which provide low-cost healthcare services.

• Extend the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. The savings from negotiating drug prices would be reinvested into the Medicare Trust Fund to ensure that future generations can access Medicare.

• Increase funding for the Social Security Administration. This would improve customer service and decrease wait times for Social Security beneficiaries by increasing staffing at Social Security Administration field offices. 

This budget makes critical investments to improve healthcare for all Americans. We look forward to seeing Congress debate them.