The White House released its proposed $7.3 trillion budget for fiscal year 2025, which included several healthcare investments.
President Joe Biden's budget contains proposals affecting healthcare policy such as Medicare expansions, telehealth provisions and resources designed to strengthen the U.S.' medical supply chain.
Here are six key takeaways for ASC leaders:
1. Medicare and Medicaid. The budget would allow Medicare to negotiate lower costs for prescription drugs, starting with 10 of the most expensive and widely used medications used to treat issues including diabetes and cancers.
It would also limit Medicare Part D cost-sharing for high-price generic drugs, such as those used to treat hypertension, to a $2 per month maximum for most Medicare beneficiaries. Further, the budget also aims to extend the Medicare hospital trust fund indefinitely, which is projected to run out in 2031, through an increase to the Medicare tax rate for those earning more than $400,000 a year and appropriating income tax revenue.
Medicaid home and community-based services would also receive $150 billion over the course of 10 years.
2. Telehealth services. The budget would put $122 million into the ReConnect program, which gives loans and grants for broadband access in underserved areas.
3. Care access. The budget would put more than $266 million into mental health programs for students, suicide prevention initiatives and children's mental health services, along with an additional $1 billion for behavioral health technology adaptation and advancement. It also proposes dedicating $8 billion in discretionary funding to the Indian Health Service to cover clinical services, includes financial support for rural hospitals and provides a total of $134 billion in VA medical care.
4. Supply chain. The budget would invest $75 million in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which aims to manufacture more "essential medications, medical countermeasures and critical inputs in the United States." Further, it would give $12 million to the FDA to strengthen its capacity to identify and address potential disruptions and shortages.
5. Cybersecurity measures. The budget puts $800 million to help hospitals cover costs associated with implementation of HHS cybersecurity practices, $500 million for a program incentivizing the investment into advancing cybersecurity practices and $141 million to improve the protection of HHS' systems and information.
6. Public health measures. It sets aside $9.8 billion to bolster the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which is used to respond to emerging health threats, and $20 billion to HHS public health agencies to support biodefense.
Other health-related investments include $376 million to improve maternal health and health equity, $1.6 billion for substance use prevention and treatment services, $2 billion to agencies in support of cancer research and treatment and aims to modernize the organ donation and transplant system and funds for infectious disease prevention and treatment.