Biden’s Budget Blueprint To Seek Drug Savings, Taxes To Bolster Medicare
President Joe Biden will unveil his proposed budget for fiscal 2024 Thursday during a visit to Pennsylvania. It is viewed largely as a marker ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign. News outlets report on outlines of his plans for Medicare and drug prices that have been sketched out in the lead up. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers propose Medicaid cuts in ongoing spending negotiations.
The Wall Street Journal:
Biden Budget To Propose Saving Hundreds Of Billions By Cutting Drug Prices, Fraud
President Biden’s budget blueprint will lay out plans to save hundreds of billions of dollars by seeking to lower drug prices, raising some business taxes, cracking down on fraud and cutting spending he sees as wasteful, according to White House officials. Mr. Biden is set to release his fiscal 2024 budget plan on Thursday. Administration officials said it would propose cutting federal budget deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. The proposal is unlikely to gain momentum, with Republicans expected to oppose many of Mr. Biden’s plans, and it will include some ideas that didn’t become law while Democrats controlled the House and Senate. But the release of the budget will kick off monthslong spending negotiations with lawmakers. (Restuccia, Rubin and Armour, 3/8)
The New York Times:
Biden Will Release Dead-On-Arrival Budget, Picking Fight With GOP
President Biden will propose a budget on Thursday that has no chance of driving tax or spending decisions in Congress this year, but instead will serve as a statement of political priorities as he clashes with Republicans over the size of the federal government. Mr. Biden’s budget proposal, the third of his presidency, is an attempt to advance a narrative that the president is committed to investing in American manufacturing, fighting corporate profiteering, reducing budget deficits and fending off conservative attacks on safety-net programs. (Tankersley, 3/9)
The Hill:
Here’s What To Watch For In Biden’s Budget
The plan seeks to extend the lifetime for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by at least 25 years, as the fund is projected to become insolvent by 2028. But to do so, the proposal also calls for a higher tax rate “on earned and unearned income above $400,000.” (Folley, 3/8)
Axios:
Biden's Medicare Budget Proposal To Lower Drug Prices May Have Some Bite
President Biden's push to let Medicare negotiate the prices of more drugs sooner after they come to market won't become law any time soon. But some experts say even raising the topic could scare off investment into new treatments. (Owens, 3/9)
Stat:
Medicare Chief On The New Drug Price Negotiation Program’s Operations, Hiring, And Timelines
Medicare officials are still hammering out the technical specifics of how the massive program will start to negotiate drug prices — let alone the substantive ones, Medicare chief Meena Seshamani said at a STAT event Tuesday. (Wilkerson, 3/8)
Vox:
Joe Biden’s Budget Is Targeting Medicare’s Funding Crisis. Why Is The Program In Trouble?
Alarm bells have sounded about Medicare’s trust fund for decades, with the exact date of when it would run out of money moving forward and back. But, eventually, Congress will need to act. (Scott, 3/9)
Politico:
Republicans Take Aim At Medicaid As Budget Talks Heat Up
Senior Republicans in the House and Senate are proposing deep cuts to Medicaid as talks around reducing the deficit intensify ahead of a budget showdown between President Joe Biden and House leaders. As outside conservative groups make a case for cuts in closed-door briefings and calls, members point to pledges from party leaders on both sides not to touch Social Security or Medicare as a key reason the health insurance program for low-income Americans is on the chopping block. (Ollstein, 3/8)
On the end of the federal covid emergency —
Politico:
The Latest Sign The White House Covid Operations Are Winding Down? Its Proposed Budget
President Joe Biden is not expected to seek significant new Covid funding as part of his forthcoming budget proposal, the latest sign that the White House is preparing to wind down its emergency response operation later this year. The move comes as Biden has insisted that the public health crisis is under control, and amid a broader administration shift toward new priorities aimed at bolstering the post-pandemic economy and lowering consumer costs. (Cancryn, 3/8)
KHN:
Medicaid Health Plans Try To Protect Members — And Profits — During Unwinding
The federal covid-19 pandemic protections that have largely prohibited states from dropping anyone from Medicaid since 2020 helped millions of low-income Americans retain health insurance coverage — even if they no longer qualified — and brought the U.S. uninsured rate to a record low. It also led to a windfall for the health plans that states pay to oversee care of most Medicaid enrollees. These plans — many run by insurance titans including UnitedHealthcare, Centene, and Aetna — have seen their revenue surge by billions as their membership soared by millions. (Galewitz, 3/9)
On the cost of insulin —
NBC News:
Black Diabetes Patients Welcome Eli Lilly’s Price Cap, But Say Systemic Medical Barriers Remain
The news last week that the drugmaker Eli Lilly will cap out-of-pocket costs for its insulin at $35 per month brought relief to some. But what remains are systemic problems with insurance coverage and misdiagnosis that continue to challenge many with diabetes. Mila Clarke, 33, is among the 12% of Black Americans who have been diagnosed with diabetes, the second-highest rate behind Native Americans. (Bellamy, 3/8)
KHN:
Why Does Insulin Cost So Much? Big Pharma Isn’t The Only Player Driving Prices
Eli Lilly & Co.’s announcement that it is slashing prices for its major insulin products could make life easier for some diabetes patients while easing pressure on Big Pharma. It also casts light on the profiteering methods of the drug industry’s price mediators — the pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs — at a time when Congress has shifted its focus to them. (Allen, 3/9)
