The President’s Budget And Your Health

The health issues called out in President Biden’s budget proposal can be a starting point to catalyze bipartisan discussion and is a reason why his budget matters.

Last week, President Biden unveiled a $1.7 trillion budget for the Department of Health and Human Services – including an 11.5-percent increase in its discretionary budget authority for fiscal year 2024. Given the backdrop of a looming debt ceiling deadline and concerns about government spending and tax increases, conventional wisdom suggests that a continuing resolution – one that does not increase spending – will be the most likely way Congress decides to fund the government next year. That being said, the health issues called out in President Biden’s budget proposal can be a starting point to catalyze bipartisan discussion and is a reason why his budget matters.

Here are five issues the President raised which especially deserve bipartisan discussion during the federal appropriations process:

1) How do we improve mental health and wellbeing?

It’s critical for all Americans to know that 9-8-8 is the number to call if one is experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. The President’s budget proposes increases for local crisis centers, mobile crisis response, and first responders to support the 9-8-8 crisis lifeline, which needs significant strengthening as detailed in a recent Bipartisan Policy Center report. Further, more attention is warranted on appropriately reimbursing and matching behavioral health professionals to areas of unmet need.

2) How do we make sure we’re better prepared for the next pandemic?

COVID-19 highlighted the need for improved communications from public officials, more robust real-time data systems, and increased investments in medical countermeasures, supply chains, and the public health workforce. The President proposes a multi-year, multi-billion dollar budget to rapidly respond to future pandemics. Congressional oversight of past actions is important, but the public also deserves a forward-looking focus so we can strengthen the biomedical and public health infrastructure and respond effectively to the next pandemic.

3) What are we doing about poor nutrition, the leading risk factor for death in America?

With obesity rates at 40 percent for adults and 20 percent for children, it’s imperative that policymakers turn their attention to increasing access to healthy foods, incentivizing production and sales of healthier foods, and urging our health care system to treat obesity as a medical condition. The President’s budget seeks to improve food labeling and expand community-based nutrition programs and services. Separately, additional funds are proposed to modernize infant formula oversight, an issue that impacted many families last year.

4) How do we ensure Medicare stays solvent and promotes healthy beneficiaries?

This $850 billion program provides health insurance to 67 million beneficiaries. The President’s budget seeks to increase solvency for at least 25 more years, past current projections, by raising taxes on high-income individuals and accelerating drug pricing negotiations. Those of us who work in DC expect that the Republican leadership in Congress will provide their own ideas on Medicare reforms. A program that serves a significant share of the U.S population is too important to politicize and deserves serious discussion.

5) How do we better support underserved and vulnerable populations?

The proposed budget invests in maternal health, increases access to HIV preventative medicines and Hepatitis C curative treatments, expands access to healthcare and public health services for American Indians and Alaska Native populations, and strengthens Medicaid home and community-based services to help older Americans and those with disabilities. Many of these issues have bipartisan interest. Compromising on an approach for each would result in tangible benefits for millions of Americans.

It would be a mistake to discard the President’s budget. Evaluations of current programs, accounting of past expenditures, a review of justifications of new funds, and identifying budgetary offsets are important factors that should be considered as part of the appropriations process. While the politics may ultimately necessitate a continuing resolution, the American public deserves better.