Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden's Budget Proposal Focuses On Health Care
Stat: Biden Puts Drug Pricing At The Center Of His Budget
President Biden made lowering drug prices a key part of his budget with proposals to expand Medicare drug price negotiation, squeeze more rebates out of drug companies, and lower the cost of insulin for everyone with insurance. (Wilkerson, 3/9)
The Hill: White House Budget Leans Into Drug Pricing, ObamaCare Expansion
President Biden’s budget proposal focuses heavily on expanding access to health care and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. In an effort to extend the life of Medicare’s hospital trust fund, the budget proposal would increase the number of drugs that can be negotiated, and allow those negotiations to begin sooner. (Weixel, 3/9)
The New York Times: Biden’s $6.8 Trillion Budget Proposes New Social Programs And Higher Taxes
President Biden on Thursday proposed a $6.8 trillion budget that sought to increase spending on the military and a wide range of new social programs while also reducing future budget deficits, defying Republican calls to scale back government and reasserting his economic vision before an expected re-election campaign. The budget contains some $5 trillion in proposed tax increases on high earners and corporations over a decade, much of which would offset new spending programs aimed at the middle class and the poor. It seeks to reduce budget deficits by nearly $3 trillion over that time, compared with the country’s current path. (Tankersley, 3/9)
Modern Healthcare: Biden’s Budget Proposal Highlights Healthcare Priorities
The Biden administration released details Thursday of the president's plans, which touch on Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, the health insurance exchanges, the Indian Health Service, prescription drug prices, mental healthcare, rural health, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other issues. (Turner, 3/9)
The Hill: Breaking Down Biden’s Budget: Here’s What’s In It
Biden also teased a pitch to “strengthen” Social Security, which is projected to reach insolvency by 2032, but aside from opposing attempts to “cut Social Security benefits” in the request, the administration’s proposal appears to fall short of providing a plan to shore up solvency for the program. The plan instead included a 10 percent spending boost for the Social Security Administration, or $1.4 billion, while pushing for investments in “service delivery to speed up claims processing” and ensure recipients receive promised benefits. (Folley and Gangitano, 3/9)
More on the cost of Medicare —
The Wall Street Journal: Biden’s Budget Shows The Rising Cost Of Leaving Medicare And Social Security Untouched
When President Biden accused some Republicans during his State of the Union address last month of wanting to sunset the country’s two big elderly entitlement programs, GOP legislators booed. Mr. Biden responded: “Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? They’re not to be touched? All right. We’ve got unanimity.” The price of that unanimity becomes starkly clear in Mr. Biden’s budget, released Thursday. As promised, it doesn’t cut either program’s benefits. As a result, their cost continues to ratchet steadily higher. By 2033, they consume 10.5% of gross domestic product, up 2.7 percentage points from last year. (Ip, 3/9)
Fierce Healthcare: What Biden's Proposed Budget Means For Medicare Advantage
While presidential budgets don’t always get enacted word for word—especially amid a divided Congress—it does give an illustration of the administration’s priorities for the Medicare Advantage program. Here are some of the proposals that could affect MA plans. (King, 3/9)
Biden's budget plan may indicate that he's running for reelection —
Politico: 15 Budget Asks That Are Actually Biden's Reelection Pitch
While Biden hasn’t announced that he’s running again yet, his budget proposal stakes out what might as well be campaign positions on how to counter Chinese aggression, save Medicare from insolvency, tackle tax loopholes for the wealthy and more. The proposal touts trillions of dollars in spending and policies enacted on Biden’s watch, building on passage of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package and bipartisan infrastructure bill, plus Democrats’ signature tax, climate and health law. Here are 15 ways the president’s fiscal 2024 budget request frames his electoral pitch. (Scholtes and Emma, 3/9)
Axios: Biden Budget May Be A Preview Of Campaign's Health Platform
President Biden's fiscal 2024 health budget contains few bombshells. But it's a useful guide to what he sees as accomplishments to build on — and likely previews key parts of a prospective 2024 campaign platform. With a divided Congress and little chance of major legislation, Biden's best bet may be drawing contrasts with Republicans on pocketbook issues like drug costs and to portray the GOP as intent on cutting voters' health care and retirement benefits. (Bettelheim, 3/10)
More on the cost of insulin and other drugs —
Stat: Insulin For $20: Sanders Pushes Bill For Universal Price Caps On Drug
Now that Eli Lilly is cutting prices on some of its insulin products, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is seeking to build on that momentum. This week, he introduced a bill that would place a $20 cap on all insulin, a move designed to drastically lower costs for millions of Americans. (Silverman, 3/9)
Stat: Studies Show R&D Costs, Effectiveness Don't Affect Drug Prices
By law, Medicare will have to take a medication’s efficacy and its research and development costs into account when it starts to negotiate drug prices — but recent research shows pharma companies ignore those factors when they pick prices for their products. (Silberner, 3/10)
