Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump's Budget Proposal Expected To Propose Deep Cuts To Safety Net Programs Like Medicaid, Food Stamps
Reuters: Trump Slashes Foreign Aid, Cuts Safety Net Programs In New Budget Proposal
U.S. President Donald Trump will propose on Monday a 21% cut in foreign aid and slashes to social safety-net programs in his $4.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2021, according to senior administration officials. The budget would spend money to fund infrastructure projects and defense, but would also raise funds by targeting $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs in the United States. It assumes revenues around $3.7 trillion. (2/9)
The New York Times: Trump To Propose $4.8 Trillion Budget With More Border Wall Funding
Those reductions encompass new work requirements for Medicaid, federal housing assistance and food stamp recipients, which are estimated to cut nearly $300 billion in spending from the programs. The budget will also cut spending on federal disability insurance benefits by $70 billion and on student loan forgiveness by $170 billion. The budget will propose cutting foreign aid spending by 21 percent and, as in previous budgets, eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It would cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget by 9 percent but increase funding levels for the center’s infectious disease activities. It targets specific programs, including some at the National Institutes of Health, for cuts. (Tankersley, Rappeport, Kanno-Youngs and Sanger-Katz, 2/9)
Politico: Trump Hits Medicaid, Food Stamps In Push To Slash Domestic Spending
About half of the savings would stem from the Trump administration’s push to overhaul mandatory spending, including changes that would curb food stamp benefits, implement Medicaid work requirements and tackle improper health payments, among other reforms. An administration official stressed that the president isn’t proposing to cut Medicare or Medicaid in order to achieve savings, and that mandatory spending for both health programs increases each year in Trump’s budget plan. (Emma and Scholtes, 2/9)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump To Propose $4.8 Trillion Budget With Big Safety-Net Cuts
The White House proposes to cut spending by $4.4 trillion over a decade. Of that, it targets $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs, including $130 billion from changes to Medicare prescription-drug pricing, $292 billion from safety-net cuts—such as work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps—and $70 billion from tightening eligibility access to disability benefits. The budget would lower future spending from where it would be under current policy. A senior administration official said government spending will continue to rise, but not as much as it would under current policy. (Davidson and Restuccia, 2/9)
The Associated Press: Trump Budget To Face Skepticism, Overwhelming Politics
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that “once again the president is showing just how little he values the good health, financial security and well-being of hard-working American families.” “Year after year, President Trump’s budgets have sought to inflict devastating cuts to critical lifelines that millions of Americans rely on," she said in a statement. “Americans’ quality, affordable health care will never be safe with President Trump.” (Taylor, 2/9)
The Washington Post: White House Budget Proposal Keeps Deficit For 15 Years
The White House is preparing to propose a $4.8 trillion budget that would fail to eliminate the federal deficit over the next 10 years, according to an internal summary of the plan obtained by The Washington Post, missing a longtime GOP fiscal target. (Stein and Werner, 2/9)
USA Today: Trump Budget: Spending Plan To Call For Cuts To Domestic Programs
Last month, Trump opened the door to overhauling entitlement programs such as Medicare, saying during a television appearance while in Davos, Switzerland, that “tremendous growth” in the economy would make it easier to restructure such programs. Democrats interpreted those remarks to mean that more cuts could be coming to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and accused Trump of breaking a campaign pledge not to slash those safety net programs. (Jackson and Collins, 2/9)
