Budget Deal Stuffed Full Of Health Provisions: Community Health Centers, IPAB, The ‘Doughnut Hole’ And More
In the early hours of Friday morning the House passed a spending deal to very quickly reverse a government shutdown that was triggered at midnight. The bill includes many of the Democrats' top health care priorities, but they had to compromise in some places as well.
The New York Times:
House Passes Budget Deal To Raise Spending And Reopen Government
The House gave final approval early Friday to a far-reaching budget deal that will reopen the federal government and boost spending by hundreds of billions of dollars, hours after a one-man blockade by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky delayed the votes and forced the government to close. With the House’s approval, before dawn and Friday’s workday, the government will reopen before most Americans knew it closed, with a deal to provide $300 billion in additional funds for this fiscal year and next to military and non-military programs, disaster relief for the victims of last year’s hurricanes and wildfires, and a higher statutory debt ceiling. (Kaplan, 2/8)
The Washington Post:
Government Shutdown Set To End As House Passes Sweeping Budget Bill
The 240-to-186 House vote came just after 5 a.m., about three hours after the Senate cleared the legislation on a vote of 71 to 28, with wide bipartisan support. (DeBonis and Werner, 2/9)
The New York Times:
From Clinics To Child Insurance, Budget Deal Affects Health Care
The budget deal in Congress is billed as a measure to grant stability to a government funding process that has lurched from crisis to crisis — but it is also stuffed with provisions that will broadly affect the nation’s health care system, like repealing an advisory board to curb Medicare spending and funding community health centers. Many of the provisions have been in gestation for months, even years in some cases. Some will save money. Many will cost money — potentially a lot of money. (Pear, 2/8)
The Washington Post:
12 Of The Most Important Things In Congress’s Massive Spending Deal
Some Democrats are calling this deal a win because it gives a “historic” boost to nondefense spending. Overall, domestic spending would rise by $60 billion this fiscal year and $78 billion the following year. (Long and Stein, 2/8)
Politico:
Congress Votes To End Government Shutdown
“What makes Democrats proudest of this bill is that after a decade of cuts to programs that help the middle class, we have a dramatic reversal," added Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who helped craft the deal along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and House leaders. "Funding for education, infrastructure, fighting drug abuse, and medical research will all, for the first time in years, get very significant increases, and we have placed Washington on a path to deliver more help to the middle class in the future.” (Bresnahan, Scholtes and Caygle, 2/8)
The New York Times:
Budget Deficits Would Balloon Under The Bipartisan Spending Deal
According to a preliminary analysis of the deal, federal deficits would surpass $1 trillion by 2019, a level not seen since the recession and its aftermath. (Parlapiano, 2/8)
The Hill:
Popular Bill To Fight Drug Prices Left Out Of Budget Deal
Drug pricing advocates are decrying the budget deal announced Wednesday for leaving out a bipartisan drug pricing measure that they had pushed for. The measure would prevent branded drug companies from using delay tactics to prevent cheaper generic competitors from coming onto the market. (Sullivan, 2/8)